It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that former President Bill Clinton is out there stumping for his wife. After all, he does have many positives, including a strong connection with the African-American community, who embraced him. Yet, I do believe that, in the past couple weeks, he has gone a bit over the top. Before the Nevada caucuses, he made the outrageous claim that some votes would count five times more than others - and those votes, obviously, were assumed to be going for Sen. Obama. Now, he's playing the victim, claiming that Obama put a "hit job" (proverbial, one assumes) on him.
Please.
You know, we all know Clinton knows how to play bare-knuckle politics. We also know that he got the crap kicked out of him, and his family, for the entire eight years he was President. He couldn't buy a break from the press and the right, and they didn't let up, even after he left office. In the midst of a heated campaign, in which he might feel a bit invested, for many reasons, but not least because it might be understood to be a referendum on his Presidency (this is a chance for the American people to register their feelings about him via his wife's candidacy), however, I do believe that he needs to take a step back, breathe deeply, and remember this is a primary campaign, and there aren't a whole lot of differences between his wife, Sen. Obama, and former Sen. Edwards.
To be less charitable, I honestly think Hillary needs to put a bit of a shorter leash on the guy. He also needs a big dose of STFU, available anywhere political advice is given away.
Virtual Tin Cup
