MITT IS THE CLINTON DEMOCRAT:

Romney has name-dropped the former President several times in recent days, praising Clinton in the same breath as he slams the current occupant of the White House.

The motive for the unorthodox strategy seems clear: By complimenting Clinton for overseeing a reduction in government and an economic boom, Romney can contrast Obama as having done the opposite.

"Romney's primary goal is to suggest that Obama is well to the left of Bill Clinton," said Larry Sabato, political science professor at the University of Virginia.

"He wants to make Obama the second coming of Jimmy Carter, not Bill Clinton," Sabato said.

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