Bill Clinton Remains a Political Rock Star
27 August 2008 8:22 am by Taylor Marsh
Reporting from Denver
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Last night, Bill Clinton made his way through the club level of the Pepsi Center
a couple of times. This shot is the best to be had, considering that when
he passed by the corridor journalists, camera men
and women, and anyone else anywhere near and in the skyboxes flooded the corridor to get a shot.
William Jefferson Clinton remains
a traffic stopper, even in corridors where political big shots are seen every
ten feet. One person from a prominent network simply stated, “I’ve never
seen anything like it. He’s just amazing.” That’s simply reality, whether
Obama’s fans and the Clinton haters want to face it or not.
Tonight Bill Clinton will deliver his speech at the convention. The stories
today about his relationship with Obama run the gamut, with Clinton biographer David
Maraniss getting this headline: Obama, Bill Clinton Remain Distant; Despite
Similar Stories, a Complex Relationship.
“Distant,” hmmmm. Maybe it’s just an alpha male thing. It
actually might be a lot less complex than it seems.
Talking to one person last night who knows the story intimately, I was given
the distinct impression that though there has been definite tensions between
the Big Dawg and Obama, much of that is finally receding.
The reality is that William Jefferson Clinton, whether you like him (I do,
very much) or not, has one huge asset that Obama doesn’t come close to having
at this point. Two full terms as president, having been elected and re-elected
in a decade where the right-wing, the media and everyone else hunted the Clintons
for sport. He faced it all, including impeachment, only to end up as popular
as ever, more effective too, with the Clinton Global Initiative accomplishing
much for people across the globe.
Oh, and what Bill Clinton did for the economic health of this nation isn’t
nothing, you know.
Maraniss gets to the bottom line of it for Obama. It’s not all that complicated.
Clinton associates, long familiar with his habits and rhythms, say it would
take little more than phone calls on a somewhat regular basis to keep him
satisfied. Attention has always been Clinton’s lifeblood. “We all know
that he wants to be loved. Just call him. Call him any time of day or night,”
said one associate. “Talk to him about anything. Talk to him about the
Olympics or what he thinks about a certain congressional district or even
about the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle. Obama could even put the
phone in a drawer and just let President Clinton talk away. It wouldn’t take
much. It could be so easy.”
Barack Obama would do well to understand that he’s got a lot going for him,
but he’s also got a long way to go before he can claim the clout of Bill. It’s
not easy winning two terms as president. There’s no other Democrat alive who’s
done it.
