2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forum"Hillary Clinton and the 2 -for-1 Presidency", AP Boston Herald, 'You'll Get Sick of Seeing Him'
*Hillary Clinton and the 2-for-1 Presidency*, AP, Boston Herald, Monday, May 16, 2016.
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. The notion of a 2-for-1 Clinton presidency is back.
Recalling sunnier days of growth, low unemployment and budget surpluses under her husband, Hillary Clinton is telling Americans that Bill Clinton will take the lead on the economy if she wins the White House. What his work would be remains unclear: not a cabinet post, she indicated. But in some way, he'd be "in charge of revitalizing the economy."
Bill Clinton reigned over a strong economy, especially in the final years of his presidency, yet his economic legacy is mixed. The late 1990s were the last period to see sustained income gains for the typical American household.
Middle-income wages have stagnated since then. But his refusal to step up regulation of exotic financial instruments known as derivatives was blamed in large measure for the collapse of the financial sector years later. The tech bubble of his time burst. And his agenda was driven by support for free trade deals, including one that gave China better access to the U.S. market, that are held responsible by elements of both parties for driving jobs out of the country.
Still, in those pre-9/11 days, it's a stretch of peace and prosperity like Americans haven't seen since and with her latest remarks, in Kentucky, Hillary Clinton is more firmly laying out how important he would be to her agenda.
The situation is highly unusual: Not only would Clinton be the first president to have a "First Dude," she'd also be the first to have a former president in the East Wing.
Now, facing a two-front fight against Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, she's stressing that Bill Clinton would be an asset in her administration, particularly with the kind of Southern white voters who once backed him but now are drawn to Trump. "Tell me anybody else who's been here as much or knows us as well," said Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, of Bill Clinton, during a campaign event in West Virginia. Hillary Clinton lost that primary a state her husband won by double digits earlier this month to Sanders. The GOP front-runner and his team are making a different political bet. They see Bill Clinton's history of scandal as ripe for exploitation.
Still, in recent weeks, Clinton has begun sketching out a bit more of a role for her husband. She told West Virginians that he'd focus on helping economically distressed communities, like those in coal county, reinvent themselves in a changing economy. "You'll get sick of seeing him," she said earlier this month. "This gets him really, really excited."
Spokesman Nick Merrill said Monday that Clinton would be getting ahead of herself to talk about "any sort of formalized role for anyone. But, he added, Bill Clinton "has a lot to offer and it would be foolish not to use that in some capacity."
More any other political couple in recent American history, the Clintons have long viewed themselves as a joint package. Shortly after entering the White House, Clinton appointed his wife to head the administration's effort to pass a major health care bill. The failed measure became known as "Hillarycare."
But as the party has shifted to the left during the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton repeatedly found herself forced to repudiate key pieces of her husband's legacy during her primary campaign. She's distanced herself from the North American Free Trade Agreement, the federal law that defined marriage as between one man and one woman, and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that banned gays and lesbians from military service. Hillary Clinton has also faced criticism for backing the 1994 crime bill, which led to tougher sentencing for drug offenses.
Her campaign is calculating that in the general election, Bill Clinton's strong economic record outweighs the criticism.
Over the next 10 days, Bill Clinton is scheduled to campaign in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, New Mexico, California, South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana.
..Broadly-shared prosperity is what President Clinton is known for, so I am thrilled Hillary is deploying my old boss," said former Clinton aide Paul Begala. "Wherever two or more are gathered, there, too, should he be."
Read more, http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/2016/05/hillary_clinton_and_the_2_for_1_presidency
Hillary Clinton Speaks at the Home of Nathan Smith during a Campaign Stop in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, Sunday, May 15.
YouDig
(2,280 posts)FlatBaroque
(3,160 posts)Buy one get one free. Still not interested. Actually, further disinterested.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)And they say Sanders supporters are expecting a "savior" while Begala uses a description of Jesus to describe Bill
appalachiablue
(42,413 posts)roguevalley
(40,656 posts)Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)appalachiablue
(42,413 posts)Memories...
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)but is poison to true Liberals and independents.
speaktruthtopower
(800 posts)could speak just 10 minutes a year at Goldman Sachs.
Ferd Berfel
(3,687 posts)I doubt he could contain himself.
appalachiablue
(42,413 posts)LiberalArkie
(16,040 posts)Waiting For Everyman
(9,385 posts)Nasty.
The two of them need to go away.
appalachiablue
(42,413 posts)Red Oak
(698 posts)Gag me.
The first movie was bad enough.
NAFTA, CAFTA, gutting finance laws.
The acceleration of the decimation of the middle class for the blessings of "free trade".
scanalyse
(1 post)Miles Archer
(18,912 posts)Trump is already telegraphing his punches. Hope she's ready.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/17/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton.html?
Donald J. Trump plans to throw Bill Clintons infidelities in Hillary Clintons face on live television during the presidential debates this fall, questioning whether she enabled his behavior and sought to discredit the women involved.
Mr. Trump will try to hold her accountable for security lapses at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and for the death of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens there.
And he intends to portray Mrs. Clinton as fundamentally corrupt, invoking everything from her cattle futures trades in the late 1970s to the federal investigation into her email practices as secretary of state.
For Mrs. Clinton, the coming battle is something of a paradox. She has decades of experience and qualifications, but it may not be merit that wins her the presidency it may be how she handles the humiliations inflicted by Mr. Trump.
AzDar
(14,023 posts)Also, REALLY bad optics... like she can't do it by herself.
Hell NAW.
appalachiablue
(42,413 posts)so nothing should surprise us.