"He Doesn't Like Obama"

The New Yorker:

The New Yorker profiles the role of Bill Clinton and his rivalry with Barack Obama:

When Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign was launched, in January, 2007, her supporters feared that Bill would overshadow her, as he had when they both spoke at the funeral of Coretta Scott King, a year earlier. Now the constant fear is that he will embarrass her. When he makes news, it is rarely a good day for his spouse. Whether he was publicly comparing Barack Obama's primary victory in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's campaigns in the eighties or privately, and apoplectically, complaining that Bill Richardson broke his word by endorsing Obama, every story has seemed to reinforce an image of Clinton as a sort of ill-tempered coot driven a little mad by Obama's success. "I think this campaign has enraged him," the adviser told me. "He doesn't like Obama." In private conversations, he has been dismissive of his wife's rival. James Clyburn, an African-American congressman from South Carolina, told me that Clinton called him in the middle of the night after Obama won that state's primary and raged at him for fifty minutes. "It's pretty widespread now that African-Americans have lost a whole lot of respect for Bill Clinton," Clyburn said.

Read the whole article.

Read the whole story: The New Yorker

Comments

[Obamlatina]

Regarding a former opponent of then Gov. Clinton, Clinton wrote in his book My Life:

"...Sheffield Nelson, former president of Arkansas-Lousiana Gas Company, who said he switched parties because the Democratic Party had moved too far to the left. It was the standard explanation WHITE SOUTHERNERS gave..."

Also from the same book:

"I [Clinton] got a break soon afterward, when Jim Guy Tucker decided to withdraw from the race and run for Lt. Governor instead, saying a divisive primary would only increase the chances of a Republican victory in the fall, no matter who won..."

Hillary should heed the words of Tucker today

[Oldbuck]

I would think that Senator Obama is doing really well Bill and Carl Rove don't like him so that makes him a ok as far as I am concern. If they liked him I would wonder about his character. If they liked him I would wonder if he was a woman chasing, lying rascal. Old Bill likes to chase the women and Carl would climb a tree to tell a windy.

[kenjisan]

I like the way you verbalized that!

[Beachrunner]

Hillary should send him on a three month fact-finding tour . . . to outer Mongolia.

[sansego2000]

As most people can see the only people that the Clinton's care about is themselves. If you cannot do for them you are useless.

[missjabez]

Bill Clinton: Crazy as hell And Doesn't Care Who Knows It.

[stepintothelight]

I don't like Bill at all anymore. He is such a "broken" tool!!!

[lenoirlady]

I can't believe that I was so pro Clinton 16 years ago, but things and people change. Could I have been so wrong? Was he always so argumentative, paranoid and just plain nasty? After all the women in his life just kept on falling from the yardarm I wept for Hillary's sanity. Now? I KNOW she's an arrogant person with enough brass to run for President in spite of - - -EVERYTHING. Just wish She, Willy, the reverend and all their hangerson would just vanish so the intelligent Democrats could elect Barack and start repairing this country. Every time The Rev opens his mouth it is to make himself the center of the Universe. He doesn't want Obama to win, remember I said that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rocketJsquirrel]

Bill Clinton doesn't like Barack Obama? Well, DUH!

[DebofMD]

Bill Clinton is jealous of Obama. I mean, that's all this about. Pure and simple.

Barack is brilliant, charasmatic, handsome, married to a good-looking, intelligent woman who seems to love him very much, he has a beautiful family, and millions of people in this country and around the globe admire him and want him as President of the United States.

And Barack took the black vote from Hillary, and in turn diminished greatly the love African-Americans had for Bill. I don't think the love was ever there for Hillary. She was just a by-product.

I am African American and I initially planned to vote for Hillary, even once I learned Barack Obama was running. But as time went on she showed me who she is, while Barack showed me who *he* is, and there was no issue as to who had my vote and support anymore. So I started volunteering for the Obama campaign, voted for him in the primary, and never looked back.

I don't like that because Barack is African-American some people assume he had that vote locked up. He worked and he earned it, just like Hillary kept running her mouth, and lost it.

[RussnCA]

Offended by Obama's reverential remark about Ronald Reagan perhaps... but not jealous of Obama. The transformational candidate is an insurgent whose campaign needs to put Bill Clinton in a bad light.

If this is earning it, it is Chicago style politics as usual - ask Alice Palmer, Obama's former mentor, and a Clinton supporter.

[Denni]

How many former Clinton supporters have abandoned her? FAR MANY more than any Obama's lost. That's a very TELLING sign of what the problem is for Sen. Clinton.

[Puntarenus]

You wrote... "I don't like that because Barack is African-American some people assume he had that vote locked up. He worked and he earned it, just like Hillary kept running her mouth, and lost it."

Reference please... You are just ranting because you are supporting NObama in 2008. Please give me your references. Thanks

[Monkeytime]

Jeez. What is with you guys?

Its common knowledge that Hillary started out with a significant lead in African American support.

Everyone knows this. Its a given.

But, as you seem to have just started following politics and your search engine is broken, here's the link you requested:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/18/poll.2008/index.html

The third paragraph reads:

"The 28 point lead for Obama is a major reversal from October, when Clinton held a 24 point lead among black Democrats."

Furthermore, prior to October, she had an even greater lead.

Friendly advice:

In an effort to avoid stirring unnecessary discord and to save your self from future embarrassment, before accusing any other African Americans of lying about the timeline and reasons related to their support of any given candidate, try reading up on the issue.

PS

You might want to apologize to DebofMD.

[PossessionReceiver]

Anyone who underestimates President Clinton's power to move large blocks of centerist voters to the polls for Hillary in the general election is a bigger retard than the current occupant of the Oval Office.

[steveflos]

Hear, hear

[Tags]

My mentally retarded daughter supports Hillary, but I voted for Obama. And I'm registered as a democrat, she's registered republican.

[RThM]

"But, most of all, Bill Clinton talked about Bill Clinton." That's about it. Bill likes what likes Bill.

[DebofMD]

Brilliant.

[lenoirlady]

That statement knocks it out of the ballpark!

[jakie]

I WILL TELL YOU FOLKS WHO LIKES THE CLINTON'S? SEEMS LIKE BILL IS DYING TO GET BACK IN THE WHITE HOUSE TO GET THE BLUE DRESSES AGAIN.......GO HOME BILL YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.......AND TAKE YOU SKUM WIFE WITH YOU

[ripley8]

Scum ??

first off his affair only concerns two people. Him and his wifes. no one elses' but the republican'ts were desperate.

secondly , what kind of woman would keep a dress for months in her closet with the presidents ahem 'DNA' stained on it ???? most women get their clothes cleaned. Unless of course your setting someone up for a fall.

[whatsmyname]

A PRESIDENT'S AFFAIR ONLY CONCERNS TWO PEOPLE? JUST 2 PEOPLE? WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR NAME, ELLIOT SPITZER? THAT WHITE TRASH ARKEE, OWES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND OWES THEM A TON BUT OBVIOUSLY IF YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE BORN WITHOUT A CONSCIENCE, THEN YOU DON'T CARE, DO YOU? SEE, PEOPLE, RIPLEY8, IS A LIVING EXAMPLE OF WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER DROP OUT --OF HIGH SCHOOL

[BatedBreath]

Jakie, I tend to agree with your general point, but it doesn't make you look very good when you shout and call people ugly names. Tap once on the cap key and leave out the epithets for your next post, O.K.?

[AC500]

When is Bill Clinton going to be vetted? If Hillary does not have the management skills and popularity to win the nomination on her own and needs Bill to come to the rescue and attempt to wrest the nomination away from the nominee who has legally and morally won it within the rules of the nomination process, we can only assume Bill will be one half of a joint Presidency, needing to continue to ride to her rescue in the Oval Office. So when is he going to be vetted? An ex-President back in the White House ... are there rules for how that plays out? Who makes the decisions in the Oval Office? What conflict of interest do Bill's business interests present to the Presidency? Why is no one asking these questions let alone answering them?

[Azjhutch]

Gee, didnt the "vetting" take place when Newt and the boys cooked up that impeachment scheme?

[BatedBreath]

The repubs are just waiting until theclintons are the nominee and in the meantime they are doing everything in their power to make it happen: raves from kristol, rove and schaiff and, recognizing that their campaign is running short of money, the gop in kindly running anti-Obama ads in NC for them. But Katy bar the door once the dynamic duo get the Dem nod. I can think of a number of questionable deals put together by one or the other of them beginning with the pardons, which the repubs hardly touched.

[jrterrier]

vetted? how old are you? were you in diapers when bill clinton delivered 8 years of the greatest prosperity and peace we've seen for the past 50 years.

when he spoke before the UN on the very day they were playing his deposition by ken starr's goons on tv, bill clinton received a standing ovation.

[Labsmim]

Let us not forget - Rev. Wright is not running for the oval office. American people want to hear about important issues - not what the rev wright has to say. Does anybody know or remember when Clinton called on Rev. Wright to pray and or counsel him during his impeachment process ? McBush was endorsed by Hagee - .Please cover the issues that Amercans want to hear - the media is making a rock star out of rev wright. Get real, folks, we are about to enter a new era.
We want to know the facts regarding what each candidate stands for. Let the whole mess move on.

[kira181]

Once again -- the "headline"! Who writes these things?The idea of this website is really very good. Some of the writing is very good. But the person in charge of headlines/titles needs to do something else. This is not good.