http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=3D/20080427/NATION/7856=
93535/1001
Clinton's short fuse singeing wife's bid
April 27, 2008
By Andrea Billups - It starts with his hand rising, and then the index
finger begins to wag. But reporters know they are in the midst of a
Bill Clinton eruption when his face quickly turns a shade of crimson,
moving to purple when he's really getting hot and in the throes of a
high-minded scolding.
In Pennsylvania Monday, on the eve of a key primary that his wife
would eventually win by close to double digits, the former president,
vented his frustrations after a reporter asked him about his comments
on race and the campaign =97 and he resorted to profanity in an aside,
after he thought he was off microphone.
Mr. Clinton's anger has been on frequent display during his wife's
presidential campaign this year, and some are wondering if what was
supposed to be Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's biggest campaign asset
may actually sabotage her candidacy.
Across the Internet, his temper fits and campaign missteps have been
chronicled by pundits who describe Mr. Clinton as "saboteur."
"The man usually considered to be the most cunning politician of his
generation is kind of losing his sense of the right move," said Jeremy
Mayer, a professor who directs the master's program in public policy
at George Mason University.
Mr. Mayer added that "what we have seen in the last three months is
that he's not as effective in his personal conduct as a campaigner as
he has been historically for himself."
But Mr. Clinton still draws the crowds, and pundits have said his
successes have greatly helped his wife.
"We want Bill," crowds chanted Thursday on the campus of North
Carolina's Elon University, where Mr. Clinton was back on the stump
for his wife ahead of the state's May 6 primary =97 the latest in her
battle with rival Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
But Mr. Clinton is increasingly tagged as a hothead, even by those who
supported him and who now wish he'd put a lid on his personal
outbursts.
A recent poll found that Mr. Clinton's unfavorable rating is at its
highest point ever: 51 percent. Mrs. Clinton of New York is doing even
worse =97 54 percent have an unfavorable opinion of her. And, while some
suggested a Hillary Rodham Clinton presidency might have the added
bonus of a two-for-one with Bill, a Pew poll in February found that 41
percent of voters =97 up from 34 percent last fall =97 were unhappy with
the notion of Mr. Clinton "back in the White House."
"He is no longer on his game," said University of Virginia political
scientist Larry Sabato. "He has surprised people because his political
skills in the '80s and '90s were always sharp, but now he's very rusty
=97 the way former presidents tend to get ... and that has repeatedly
gotten in the way of her message."
Mrs. Clinton has remained mum in public, but it seems she is unhappy
about some of her husband's antics.
Earlier this month, after Mr. Clinton angrily sprung to her defense,
describing her as "exhausted" after she "misspoke" about arriving on a
trip to Bosnia under sniper fire, which was untrue, she told him to
put a muzzle on the "white knight" routine.
"Hillary called me and said, 'You don't remember this; you weren't
there. Let me handle it,' " Mr. Clinton told reporters on a stop in
Indiana. "And I said, 'Yes, ma'am.' "
The Bosnia incident, however, was not his only fit of anger.
When the Clintons' longtime pal, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson,
publicly announced his support of Mr. Obama, Mr. Clinton couldn't
suppress his rage at the perceived backstabbing.
"Five times to my face he said that he would never do it," fumed Mr.
Clinton, in whose administration Mr. Richardson served as energy
secretary and U.N. ambassador.
Most damaging for his image, though, is that he's angered once-loyal
black Democrats in the way he has addressed Mr. Obama's bid for the
White House. He compared Mr. Obama's success in South Carolina with
two-time presidential candidate Jesse Jackson's previous wins there in
1984 and 1988, suggesting it was natural Mr. Obama would win that
state as well.
Raising the issue and drawing the comparison with Mr. Jackson was
legitimate, says Duke University political scientist Kerry Haynie, but
Mr. Clinton's handling of race in an election where it clearly remains
a factor has been less than astute.
"I think he and the Clinton campaign are caught between a rock and a
hard place," said Mr. Haynie, the co-director of Duke's Center for the
Study of Race, Ethnicity and Gender. "I think they have been sort of
ham-handed in the way that they have dealt with the race issue."
The top black lawmaker in the House, Rep. James E. Clyburn, South
Carolina Democrat, told the New York Times last week Mr. Clinton may
have done irreparable damage.
"When he was going through his impeachment problems, it was the black
community that bellied up to the bar," Mr. Clyburn said. "I think
black folks feel strongly that this is a strange way for President
Clinton to show his appreciation."
|
