Bill Clinton: Off the Operating Table, Into the Kerry Camp
 

With 1 week to go in the election race...
Didn't Al Gore avoid even mentioning Clinton's name when he ran? What is the meaning of this? What happened to MonicaGate? Shouldn't the guy be recuperating in Palm Springs? He has no energy, and looks 20 lbs lighter. And I don't dislike the guy.

The image I will always have of Clinton was when, in 97, 98?, CSPAN broadcast a live speech Clinton was giving in China to a group of Chinese college students. It was a hot, tropical day and people were sweating and fanning themselves in the enclosed auditorium. Bill Clinton was a man possessed, emitting a kind of oratorical energy, strength and charisma like I've never seen in a human being. Jiang Zemin and the other top Chinese leaders were with him onstage, smiling, listening intently, clearily enjoying the electric atmosphere Clinton and the young Chinese students were creating together. They would ask questions about America, politics, society, civil rights, and he would give funny, engaging, thoughtful and powerful responses, and they loved it. He had his shirt buttoned down, was red-faced and sweaty, but he had this calm, effortless energy, the sureness and steadiness of a locomotive. He would take 20 minutes to answer 1 question; and the people were spellbound and so was I. This was a Leader of Men, doing what he was born to do. This was Energy and Charisma personified. It was amazing to watch, and I'll never forget it.

1 week to go. I just like the sound of that.
1. Week. Left.

Along came BushGate, and everyone let out a collective "Ahhhh. The good old days when sex in the Oval Office was the leed!"

Al gore seriously underestimated how much MANY in the country really loved/respected clinton, despite his moral shortcomings...
Biggest mistake ever....

Put in 4 yrs of bush and people really really begin to miss the clinton years...so kerry realizes that and embraces clinton.

I honestly love it wehn clinton is in the spotlight, he's just electrifying...and considering how utterly boring most politicians are, it's a breath of fresh air..

Agreed. Gore's largest mistake of the 2000 campaign was in trying to distance himself from Clinton. He should have used Bill until he could not use him anymore. I would not go so far as to say the American people "loved" Bill but he is likely to be remembered as the single best political mind of his generation. In many ways, it is a shame he could not keep his dick in his pants because that will always overshadow his brilliant career. I do not agree with his politics but I have to admire how he got things done. Not including him in the campaign cost Al the election more than any hanging chads.

bah. i think it's too in vogue to love on clinton these days. his administration had some accomplishments and he was a brilliant orator/politician... but his international policy left us vulnerable. i'll take reagan hawkishness over clinton goodwill any day. also, we did see some good economic times while he was in office but i think a sleep deprived ape could have had a booming economy with that kind of tech boom. that is a singular event in industrialization that i'll be surprised to see a second of in my lifetime.

back to clinton on the campaign trail...

sure, a lot of people liked clinton... but those people were voting for gore already. he could have galvanized the base better but his appeal to undecided/conservative voters was minimal. it's a campaign strategy decision: do you try to solidify your base (with clinton's charisma) or do you reduce the role of a polarizing figure to try to reach voters who are on the fence?

you may argue that the wrong decision was made. maybe so. still, a politician like al gore winning the popular vote under ANY circumstances has to be judged a victory in some respects.

Gore went anti-clinton. He wen't so far away from Bill that his Veep was Joe Lieberman, a man who broke from his party to censure Bill for Monicagate and assisted in the impeachment hearings.

Gore lost a lot of votes that would have gone for him if he was running WITH Bill rather than against.

As Dubya himself said:
Gore ran away from the man identified with that peace, prosperity and incumbency. It's a big reason why he lost.

Thank god Clinton is campaigning. Seriously, he is an awesome speaker that hopefullly at the very least get the base awakened and voting. Remember kids, at this point whoever engergizes their base more will probably win.

Personally, I wish that our former president would just fall out of sight. Every time I see him I remember working more hours with fewer parts, getting denied leave because of manning, poor pay increases and having to look up to him as Commander-In-Chief. Sure he can talk pretty, but he brought discredit to the office and gutted our military.

Of course, when he was president I was already past 10 years in the military and had committed to finishing my career.

I think Clinton could make the difference in Arkansas if he made one final appearance there. Polls, even Republican ones, are showing that it's pretty much a dead heat right now. And with the national race looking like it could come down to just a couple states, this could be a huge pickup for the Dems.