Hillary Can’t Foot The Bill
Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton can hardly afford the misguided oddities flowing out of the mouth of husband Bill Clinton in addition to those she has inflicted upon herself. Once considered the embodiment of political genus, the former President has portrayed his wife as the little woman victimized by a bunch of rambunctious boys after fellow candidates attacked the former Iowa front runner in a televised debate. In his own words,
“Even though those boys have been getting tough on her lately, she can handle it.”
Hardly the image one would care to garner striving to become the first woman President of the United States.
Campaigning on behalf of his wife in New Hampshire, Bill Clinton pointed to the lack of experience of her major competitor Barack Obama. Critical of the press coverage he said
“One percent of the press coverage was devoted to their record in public life. No wonder people think experience is irrelevant. A lot of the people covering the race think it is irrelevant.”
Only in her second term in as the Senator from New York, she is want to count her experience as First Lady to avoid having the least experience as a public official of anyone in the race. Barack Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 then the United States Senate in 2004.
Clinton supporters say that Bill is very engaged in the campaign. They have been critical of her campaign’s chief strategist Mark Penn. They blame his failure to keep the campaign’s message on track for her rapid slide in the polls. They fail to see the fact that the “come back kid” of 1992 has become more of a liability than political asset.
In a recent Charlie Rose interview, the former President praised the talent of the Democratic candidates, including the extraordinary political skill of Barack Obama, doing little to distinguish Hillary from the pack.
If that weren’t enough, he expressed doubts about Hillary’s ability to regain the lead in Iowa. While I think the reactionary statements regarding immigration that precipitated the “boys … getting tough on her” is what pierced her armor, much as Obama’s statements about meeting with rogue leaders stunted his rise in the polls, having the “genus” out “winging it” is a burden her opponents don’t have to overcome. Obama isn’t joined at the hip too a loose cannon. He’s hangin’ with Oprah!