Bill Clinton in NC: The Old Gray Mare

Once upon a time, there was a dashing young southern politician who, in spite of his questionable past, swept the nation off its collective feet.  He and his running mate-- another dashing young southern politician-- put on a great show touring the country by bus and capturing the imagination of female voters.  They wrestled the White House from an incumbent president.  The year was 1992.

Sixteen years later, the dashing young southern politician decided that he wanted a third term, and the best way to achieve it would be to help his wife become elected president.  He wanted it badly.  When he reached the state of North Carolina-- a critical primary deep in the campaign season-- he visited and spoke at 10-12 small towns daily.  That is quite a strenuous pace.  Try it some time.

The problem is that he was no longer dashing nor young.  He no longer fired up the imagination of the masses.  In fact, he oft appeared a bit... older.  And the competition was more youthful and appealing to the young than he was.

Recall the old folk song:
         
          Oh, the old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be,

Ain't what she used to be, ain't what she used to be.

The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be,

Many long years ago.

Many long years ago, many long years ago.

The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be,

Many long years ago.

In the eyes of the Democratic faithful, the old gray mare once was the epitome of leadership and enlightenment.  They would marvel at his wonkish ways, and exult over the victories he seemed to provide for them.  They arose to his defense-- again and again and again.  They celebrated the correctness of his political positions, and the fact that he helped them prevail over the opposing party.

In the op-ed pages, his supporters in the media and from within his party back then even claimed that his extramarital interests gave him some kind of competitive, psychological edge.

This year, the plan was for him to capture the hearts of conservative Democrats in small town North Carolina.  But in spite of the fact that his competition was going through a rough spot politically, he could not bring home the vote in that state.  Unfortunately, small town southerners were wise to his ways long before the rest of the country, many years ago.

He had a surprising grip on the machinery of his national party long after he left the presidency.  This was in anticipation of his wife's run for the White House.  But if his opponent-- Mr. Obama-- is nominated, then he loses all of that influence.

So it is not merely a matter of his losing another shot at the presidency.  It is also a matter of losing clout and influence within the national party-- which had already been slipping through his fingers to some extent.

So the old gray mare-- who at one time in the eyes of his party faithful and the media could do no wrong, who once was felt to be the embodiment of smart leadership, who once could almost single-handedly propel the party to victory-- ain't what he used to be.

The question is whether he keeps on trying, or whether he succumbs to the reality that is unfolding.

Comments

[Roger Greene]

The Clintons are about to be cast aside like yesterdays' newspaper. I predict they will get ugly in the process, but won't be able to stop the process. Good riddance, IMO.

[Everest]

Joe - while I think Obama is probably the eventual nominee, we need to remember two things about the Clintons...they never give up, and they don't care about damaging the National Democratic Party. If history tells us anything, we know those things for certain.

The Clintons have always been about advancing themselves - Democrats lost seats in every election during the Clinton years, and the National Party suffered a great deal. His protege Al Gore lost an election he should have been a shoo-in for, as is his wife...now, the Party is running away from the centrist ideas that got him elected in the first place. That's a pretty big repudiation of the Clintons.

But mark my words, she is in for the long haul...she'll win WVa and Ketucky by huge margins, and the super delegates will continue to waffle back and forth...if the media thinks she's going to bail out soon, they're even more clueless than I think they are (and why do they seem to want her to bail so much?)...

[Stormy]

Everett,

They want Hillary to bail so that Barack and Michelle can assume their rightful role as leaders of the United Socialist States of America. With Obama and ever increasing rush to the left by the majority party in Congress, our country will most certainly begin to take a resemblance to a socialist country.

[Joe Guarino]

Roger, Everest, Stormy-- I agree with all of you at least to some extent. And Everest makes an interesting point about them continuing in spite of the odds. What, at this point, do they want, if they cannot get the nomination? Is there anything else besides the damaging of Obama's prospects that they could conceivably want from all of this?

[Bubba]

And yet there's evidence emerging that Hillary may still be the favorite of Dem voters.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353459,00.html

It's not over for the Dems......

[Everest]

Joe - not sure if your question was rhetorical or not, but even if inside their camp they genuinely think she can't win this year, I'll promise you they want to bloody up Obama so much that HE can't win...this gives her a much clearer path in 2012. It's ALWAYS about the Clintons, and the Democrats forget/ignore that at their peril...

[Joe Guarino]

Everest, what about a major role in the party? Could they be fighting, to some extent, to retain that?

Bubba, the numbers for Hillary look good in that light. The question, of course, is whether it is too late to push the toothpaste back into the tube (or something like that).

[Everest]

You might be right Joe, but they're are only a few I would think she may want...she would NOT be his VP (and he wouldn't offer it anyway, at least not if he's smart) and I don't see Harry Reid giving up his Majority Leader post.

Perhaps it's a Cabinet position (unlikely) or maybe even a Supreme Court Justice....that's maybe a more likely call. But this ain't over, not by a long shot. There is a reason that so many super delgates haven't yet voted. If they're not voting for him when she has NO chance to win the popular vote or the delegate count...there's more going on there than meets the eye...

[Joe Guarino]

Everest, if Obama were to choose Hillary as his running mate, he would get Bill Clinton also as part of the overall package. Might be a bit awkward having an ex-president in the White House all the time.

You make some good observations.

[Stormy]

No way Hillary accepts a VP slot. If Obama loses, she goes down with the ship. Her future is destroyed. If Obama wins, then he runs again in 2012, and it would be 2016 before Hillary could run, and she would be (gasp) John McCain's old age.

Hillary stays in it because that is the only way she can keep giving Obama a black eye. Once she is out, she has to support him. She'll go back to the Senate and lay low for awhile. Hillary does not accept a cabinet position or Justice position. It's always been about Hillary being President. It's what has driven her for decades and forced her to endure Bill's embarrassments. Otherwise, any normal female would have sent him shipping after his Oval Office Affair, but she needed him to fulfill her life dream, which she could never have achieved on her own. As we have seen, she can not even achieve it with Bill. Note to Hillary: People just do not like you.

[Joe Guarino]

Apparently one of the TV pundits indicated this morning that talks have begun between the Obama and Clinton camps about the vice presidency. I suppose we shall see. I think Obama would be at risk of perpetual internal power struggles if this were to happen.

[Stormy]

The N&R reported that Mike Barber said ""recent controversies involving Greensboro's police force have hurt the department's morale — not because the incidents occurred but because the officers involved weren't properly punished."

I would beg to disagree. It is because the incidents occurred. The wrongful actions by members of the GPD are unacceptable in a professional law enforcement agency. The fact that involved officers weren't properly punished only makes the unacceptable, egregious. To borrow a phrase from Mike Longmire, what is it about Greensboro that its citizens continue to tolerate incompetent and corrupt governmental officials? Is there a board or council in this city/county that isn't incompetent and corrupt?