There’s a lot of discussion in the blogosphere today about the Bill Clinton interview with Charlie Rose. As Marc Ambinder says, “Well, He Just Puts Everything On The Table.” Clinton was quick to discuss the “experience factor,” which is what has everyone buzzing. You can watch a clip of the interview here:
Real Clear Politics has the transcript. On TIME’s RCP Blog, there’s this take on the interview: “Why Bill’s Attack Will Hurt Obama,” and Taylor Marsh says, “We Can Always Hope Obama is Electable.” See Memeorandum for all the buzz.
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Thanks for the link. One thing that struck me, though, is that I don’t see an more willingness for Clinton to do things for Hillary as President than for any of the other Dems. He’s up there moving and shaking with people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, and obviously clearing some big bucks doing this lifestyle, and I don’t get the sense that he wants to give it up.
To me that’s a negative on Hillary.
Darrell
I’m not sure I understand. Clinton’s foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, does some phenomenal things to help people around the world. Likewise Bill Gates does a lot with his wealth too. I really admire wealthy people who are willing to give the way Clinton does. And I’m not sure that he would have to give up his foundation to be “First Husband” or whatever the term will be.
This is interesting via the Hillary campaign: http://www.attacktimeline.com/
I’ll be curious to see if Obama and Edwards can counter this with proof otherwise.
Pamela: I can’t fault Slick Willie for how he’s using his money these days, but you’ve got to remember that he didn’t have any when he left office (I mean none that showed above the table, but there was Marc Rich, etc.). As the spouse of a U.S. President, however, I just feel that he would be constrained in ways that he now is not.
This is not to say I see him working against the missus. The family stock would certainly go up in the long run with a second ex Prez out there wheelin and dealin. But Bill has, if anything, shown that immediate gratification counts pretty heavily in his scheme of things, and I don’t see him working this whole campaign trip as strongly and creatively as I believe he has it in him to do. I think he sort of sees it as win-win either way.