Say What You Will About Bill Clinton, He's Still a Helluva Politician

It's a village law that whatever rules are normally applied to politicians are never to be applied to Bill Clinton. A sub-section of that law is that whenever he adapts to their laws, they will immediately be changed. Here's another case in point, from Boehlert.

I know that it is fashionable among the cognoscenti to hate Bill Clinton, it has been since he came on the scene. But rank and file Democrats still love him and they were happy to see him tonight. Like Hillary, he's the ultimate pro, and he has a legacy to protect and a wife who is one of the most important people in Democratic politics still. There was never any chance he and Hillary would replay 1980. It's never been their style.

He did something important tonight by reminding Americans that he too was derided in 1992 as being too young and too inexperienced to be commander in chief, which to all but a few die hard wingnuts, looks pretty ridiculous in retrospect. In doing that he laid the mantle of his own credibility as president on Obama, which despite the cable babblers who've never gotten it, is substantial to the American public.

I hear that he's going to be campaigning alongside Barack in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania and that's smart. Say what you will about him, he's still a helluva politician.