2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: If somehow Hillary does NOT get the nomination, I wonder if she will do a full Lieberman... [View all]karynnj
(60,729 posts)I suspect that they would actually after a few months letting anger die, support Bernie Sanders - maybe not energetically but enough to be seen as supportive. Their biggest concern will be what was the legacy of their very powerful leadership of the country.
Why? If - and I really do not see it happening - she loses, there really is no next time. If Sanders loses, it is better if they are seen as having helped, but the failure being the nominee's. Regardless, the Bill and Hillary Clinton strength will then be that they command the world's attention and they have a billion dollar foundation.
A NYT article after the SC primary last time had an unnamed insider saying that Bill Clinton was willing to do the things he did - potentially tarnishing his own reputation to help Clinton win because another 4 years or hopefully 8 would lead to a better legacy than he had after his presidency. If that was true then - and I always am skeptical of unnamed insiders, imagine now.
They have a legacy, but the foundation - like Carter's post Presidential work - can add to that legacy. Endorsing the Republican, refusing to support the Democrat or anything in between means the end of their story ends in anger and abandoning anything they ever stood for. They are not that stupid, that uncommitted to the political values they spoke of for a lifetime or that venial that they would do that.