The Big Dawg on Deck: A Sneak Preview

Whatever bad blood went on between Presidents Obama and Clinton around 2008 seems to be so much political dust in the wind right now.  Clinton appears to be fired up and ready to go for his nominating speech at the DNC.

Bill Clinton fired up the Arkansas delegation at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, blasting Republicans for piling up the national debt and giving a preview of the speech he will give to the full convention on Wednesday.

“This economy that [President Obama] inherited was profoundly ruined. Nobody who’s ever served — no one, including me — has ever been expected to turn it around overnight,” Clinton said. “The economy failed and hit bottom six months after Republicans took office. Nine percent. That’s almost Depression-level shrinkage. And I’ll give you the details tomorrow night, but that’s quite a blow.”

“And it was really interesting to me that when [Obama] was trying so hard to put Americans back to work — two full years before the election — the Senate Republican leader said that their number one goal was not to put America back to work, it was to put the president out of work,” he added.

Clinton spoke to several hundred attendees at a fundraiser in his honor, sponsored by the Arkansas Democratic Party. Actors Adrian Grenier and Ashley Judd, as well as musician will.i.am, also spoke and celebrated the former president. The crowd warmly embraced Clinton as an old friend, yelling, “That’s our Bill!” and reminiscing about his time in Arkansas beforehand.

Clinton also made fun of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney for offering so few policy details in his convention speech, joking that it was a good idea because if the American public heard them, they wouldn’t vote for them.

“They tell us they’re good husbands, good fathers and good Americans. Totally self-made. And you can trust me. See me after the election for the details,” he said, summing up how he interpreted the speeches in at last week’s Republican convention in Tampa, Fla.

But perhaps the main point of Clinton’s speech was putting the blame for the national debt squarely at the GOP’s doorstep.

He pointed to the giant national debt clock that Republicans had at their convention, saying, “You see that debt clock?”

“They built it!” shouted a man in the audience.

“Yeah, they built it. They built it,” replied Clinton, to loud cheers and laughs from the audience.

The Big Dawg has street cred on balanced budgets.  He has cred on a lot of things. He is the best retail politician I have ever seen in my lifetime. I’ve seen him speak and work a crowd many times down here in New Orleans.

One of the biggest, weirdest tropes coming out of the Republican propaganda machines these days is the imaginary ‘wedge’ between the former and current president.  I see absolutely no evidence of it.   You really have to wonder how many lies the Republicans think the American people will swallow.  It has to be a cynical attempt to grab votes.  You can tell when the Big Dawg is pissed at some one.  It’s really obvious.  I think Clinton realizes that Obama’s legacy is tied to the Clinton legacy in many ways.  I’m not alone in that thought.

Tonight, former president Bill Clinton gives the official nominating speech for the Democratic National Convention. It’s an understatement to say there’s a good deal of anticipation around what Clinton will say. For as much as both campaigns are focused on the future, this election is as much a referendom on Clinton’s presidency as it is a choice between two competing visions.

President Obama has explicitly presented himself as the natural extension of Clinton’s legacy. His administration is staffed with Clinton veterans, his secretary of state is the former First Lady, and his signature policies are a more muscular spin on the centrist approach that characterized Clinton’s first term. Indeed, one of the most recent television ads from Team Obama — “Clear Choice” — features Clinton as he speaks directly into the camera and tells viewers: “President Obama has a plan to rebuild America from the ground up, investing in innovation, education and job training. It only works if there is a strong middle class. That’s what happened when I was president. We need to keep going with his plan.”

The one noticeable pol missing is Al Gore.

He isn’t coming to the Democratic National Convention but is spending the week in New York City, anchoring coverage of the event for his network Current TV.

Gore’s evolution over the past four years — from a central figure in the Democratic Party to a no-show at its biggest event — matches what has happened to the issue of climate change itself, which moved to the sidelines alongside its chief crusader, environmentalists and some Democrats say.

It’s not like Gore hasn’t noticed — and his frustration with Obama has been on display. He’s leveled criticism at Obama for abandoning the push for a climate change bill. He accused him of failing to use the bully pulpit to spread the word about the dangers of rising global temperatures. And he faulted Obama for putting off tough new smog regulations.

On the other hand, Gore has also offered some defense of Obama’s record and says that “I would fear for the future of our environmental policy” if Mitt Romney wins the election.

People who know Gore say this is the role where he feels he can make a difference now — critic and outsider, more activist than politician.

This is a situation where a look back to the past is actually a good thing as compared to the retro-vision of the Republican Party.  The Clinton Economy was a period of great growth for every one in the country.   I am sure that Clinton will bathe in the spotlight.  The man adores it.

However, I’m looking forward to him making the case for the current President.   We are also looking for that hint of answer to the big question of Hillary in 2016.  Will anything suggest this in anyway?

And if everything goes the former president’s way, it could conceivably lead to another Clinton winning the White House in 2016. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is not on the premises, in keeping with the diplomatic tradition of steering clear of partisan politics, but her husband’s ubiquitousness here would certainly come in handy during any future presidential try by her.

All this is possible because, nearly 12 years after leaving office still marred by impeachment, the former president is arguably the most popular figure on the political scene. His personal approval ratings have never been higher, easily exceeding Obama’s. His easy drawl is bombarding the airwaves in battleground state television ads broadcast by the Obama team.

Obama has asked Clinton to place his name in nomination, which makes him the first ex-president to have that honor and provides further proof, if any were needed, of his importance to the reelection effort.

Clinton is already raising money for Obama from wealthy donors and volunteering strategic advice. “He calls me frequently,” said a senior Obama campaign official in Chicago. “He is all the way in.”

He is also keeping the family business alive while his wife finishes her term as secretary of State. He has been making endorsements in down-ballot races and raising money for Democrats who backed her presidential campaign and could be in a position to help her again.

Secretary Clinton, one of the few figures on the national scene whose aura rivals her husband’s, has seen her personal ratings rebound to near-record highs during her tenure as the nation’s senior diplomat. She has announced plans to return to private life after the 2012 election, prompting intense speculation about another bid for the Democratic nomination.

“Why wouldn’t she run?” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has said, echoing the assessment of many others inside and outside Clinton circles. She would turn 69 in 2016, but even those who say she hasn’t made up her mind don’t think age would be an impediment.

Because she will be on the opposite side of the planet Wednesday — meeting with China’s leaders as part of a 10-day, six-nation trip — her husband will not only be promoting Obama and burnishing his own legacy in Charlotte. He’ll be her stand-in too, said Ann Lewis, a top Clinton White House aide and senior advisor in Secretary Clinton’s 2008 campaign. “He’s been practicing the role of spouse for several years,” she said. “He’s pretty good at it.”

This would be a past, present and a future to look forward to.  That would be a real change.