Should Obama Put Bill Clinton to Work on Swinging Votes for Health Care Bill?

Bill Clinton has been uncharacteristically silent lately. Hillary, too, who has had to contend not only with a fractured elbow but also with a crew of Obama-appointed special envoys who cover the world's hot spots and condense her portfolio. She finally, this week, found her voice, responding to pundits' speculation that President Obama had managed brilliantly to sideline both her and her husband. She described herself as fully engaged as Secretary of State and quipped, "I broke my elbow, not my larynx."

She spoke for herself, not Bill. Yes, last May he too won a special envoy appointment, but his came from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, and it was not to the Middle East, where Hillary hinted during the primaries that she might send him after she moved into the Oval Office, or Afghanistan/Pakistan or North Korea-- but rather to....Haiti.

Here's an idea for President Obama. How about naming the former president and Arkansas governor, special envoy to ...his old friend and traveling companion, Arkansas Congressman Mike Ross? (Bill and Mike go way back; Mike volunteered in 1982 to drive Bill all over Arkansas when Clinton was running for governor).

Ross is now a four-termer representing the 4th District of Arkansas and he owes Bill Clinton big time. In 2000, about to leave office and seriously sidelined by his own vice president, Al Gore, Bill Clinton was pining to be out on the campaign trail. Clinton traveled to the district the Sunday before the election to speak for Ross and to bring out the African American vote--the 4th District has the state's largest population of blacks. Without the boost from Clinton, Ross might have lost to the republican incumbent, Jay Dickey--a man whom the President had vowed to defeat as payback for Dickey's voting for Clinton's impeachment . While Bill's appearance in Arkansas didn't keep George W. Bush from winning the state, it did put shove Ross over the finish line--with 51 percent of the vote.

Now Ross, a leading Blue Dog Democrat, said his group has enough votes --seven members, perhaps as many as 10-- to derail Obama's health care bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Perhaps Bill Clinton, who knows something about losing the fight for national health care, can persuade Ross to change his mind.

As I discovered while writing Clinton in Exile, a book about Bill Clinton's post presidency, it's often unclear where exactly Bill Clinton's interests reside. Is it to the Clintons' advantage for Obama to succeed in a mega-reform of health care -or not? It depends on what the definition of ..... 2012 is.

Comments

[Weirdwriter]

READ the bill:

Short version: http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BILLSUMMARY-071409.pdf

Full test (scroll down to Learn More, then Read Bill Text): http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1864

Help HuffPo with investigation of same: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-palevsky/hundreds-join-together-to_b_237999.html

[spinns17]

we dont need another dino in this.

[TJCole]

No..!

[Fabienne]

Who's Bill Clinton?

[Poboy]

I don't know.

Wasn't he the Gov. of Arkansas who stood in the schoolhouse door to block the attendance of the Little Rock Nine?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine

[noneIn2008]

Maybe a concern to attacking ones name if the seniors begin to find out what it is going to cost them. The seniors are not going to be happy campers at the next election, especially as they learn of the medicare cuts.

[AnnfromCA]

I really don't understand the proposition. He certainly can't negotiate like Obama should be able to do. Why isn't this simply Obama's problem? It's his administration.

[mergina]

I believe Hillary would see this current Health Care Fiasco as the disaster that it is.

[MelRoy]

If anybody knows what an uphill battle a natioalized healthcare system is in America, it's Hillary. She was on the front line of that fight in 1993/4.

[trainunderwater]

I agree that it would be ideal for Obama if Clinton were put in a position to alter Ross' Health care actions, but isn't it worrisome that Ross could hypothetically change his mind on a policy he feels strongly about, simply in order to appease a friend of his?

[wizened]

What planet do you live on? You're talking about the United States Congress!

[thenextquagmire]

I think this is a great idea . Former President Bill Clinton certainly has developed some serious political capital. I’m sure it would allow him the ability to improve on his failed attempt at Health Care reform in the early 1990’s and to stick it to those that opposed him then. It would egg them.

Although, you have to ask, among the Democrats in the House who voiced their view to derail Obama's health care bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Arkansas Congressman Mike Ross is the most visible voice. The same Mike Ross, who as a superdelegate continued to endorse Hillary Clinton for President right up to the day she conceded. I am sure that the Obama Administration can play some serious hardball with him, considering Mike Ross’ 4th District is primarily African American.

[Amy Dugan]

doubt Obama will ask any Clinton for help on healthcare. remember this????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_X-RoRghAY

[Amy Dugan]

hillary had a plan that would cover more people for less but not tax small businesses to death

[Fabienne]

Except Hillary couldn't even get the Dem nomination when she was the "inevitable" candidate, so it is highly unlikely she would have gotten her healthcare plan passed.

[2Bfair]

Hillary did not have the experience, judgement or leadership skills to accomplish healthcare reform. Its failure is a testament first and foremost to her arrogant "my way or no way" hardball approach, which alienated many poteintial suppoerts in Congress. The Clintons have nothing of value to contribute to aiding Obama and is agenda. They are self-serving and divisive.

[Carol Felsenthal - Huffpost Blogger]

Yes, I do; I blogged about it more than a year ago in May, 2008.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-felsenthal/gov-bobblehead-for-vice-p_b_102215.html

The post is titled

"Gov. Bobblehead for Vice President?" The reference is to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, then a fervent Hillary backer who stood behind Hillary, then almost out of races and luck in the primary battle against Obama.

[Amy Dugan]

Strickland is my governor. I know Ohio kept her alive in the primaries because even though she was outspent she still won big in this important swing state. She selected me to be congressional coordinator in Boehner's district so I met them both often. I like him a lot and told him I was going to tell her not to take my governor away (that is when I thought she would be president and pick him as VP)

[LizM]

Here's a pretty good link for that AARP townhall meeting on healthcare - just to give a slightly better sense of what the Vice President had to say.

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourhealth/policy/articles/town_hall_meeting_on_health_care_reform_for_older_americans.html

Unfortunately, people seem to love to take his statements out of context and try and present them as something they are not. One day, I might be so lucky as to understand why that is. I mean, the media is constantly lamenting the fact that politicians never speak the plain truth and that they always stick to rehearsed talking points. And, yet, when they discover that there is at least one pol who does speak plainly and clearly and honestly, with candor, they can't wait to turn his words on their head and publically ridicule him.

I'm guessing that the media would rather have politicians who stick to the script because that is exactly what the media breed by the way they treat the likes of VP Biden.

[SparkyDash]

There is a purposful focus on all of Biden's speeches and presentations in hopes of ferreting out some misspeak, or worse, no misspeak at all but they'll make one up. Probably a game of the smaller mind set. This is how absurd it has become: I spied a brief blurb of his pleasant speech Deed's fundraiser. Biden did not mention Delaware, but mentioned two other states' names (a light speech remember), so what happened? The headline blurted "Biden's Delaware diss?" Huh? Next he'll get slammed saying his dog Champ is smart.

Perhaps it's because I'm part of the industry, but there is little that I find worse than trashy journalism.

I will write to the site or author. It may not change things, but I will have done something.

[RedDogBear]

Well if Obama's goal is to undermine a public option and get more people to join the blue dog DINO's then I'm sure President Clinton could prove very useful. Otherwise not so much. Clinton is bought and sold by the big corporations. I don't recall him ever making a strong statement about the need for a public option in healthcare. If I'm wrong on that please provide a link that shows otherwise.

His version of healthcare "reform" is the same as his welfare "reform" -- find ways to cut back services to the most needy and to throw opportunities to corporate buddies.

[Carol Felsenthal - Huffpost Blogger]

Hillary was for a public option when she ran [into the ground] Bill Clinton's health care taskforce in 1993-94.

During the primary campaign, Bill and Hillary were for whatever would give them the most votes. In fact, for much of the campaign they wanted voters to believe that Barack Obama was, in his heart, for a single payer system and eventually for driving the private insurers out of business and instituting all public all the time.

[RedDogBear]

"Hillary was for a public option when she ran [into the ground] Bill Clinton's health care taskforce in 1993-94."
Are you talking about what she was for in the sense of what was secretly in her heart or what she publicly advocated for? Its been a while so perhaps I'm wrong but from what I remember a serious public option was never really part of what they were proposing. It was a deal to work with certain HMO's and make them more accesible to some people who were harder to insure but it was not a true public option.

In any case I notice you didn't reply to my main point which is that PRESIDENT Clinton has never strongly advocated for a public option which kind of undercuts your main argument that he could (or for that matter would even want to) play a major role moving it along now.

[Fabienne]

Thank you, RedDog Bear. The less seen of Bill Clinton, the better. As for Obama putting his own staffers in prominent positions at State (and I don't know if this is true or not), isn't that what is usually done? He is, after all, the President and the State Department is under his control. That is good, because, though I believe Hillary Clinton is doing an okay job there, were it totally under her control, we might be attempting to obliterate Iran by now.

[cupcake65]

What was Bill Clinton's success rate when he campaigned for someone or something other than himself? Oh, yeah - - .000! And that includes his "WIFE"! Yup, he's your boy.

[LizM]

You're right...the former first couple have been very silent of late. Secretary Clinton not only has to contend with the high profile special envoys but, there is also the Vice President who is the resident expert on foreign policy matters in this administration.

But, I wouldn't fret...Secretary Clinton has VP Biden in her corner and I'm sure that she will find his close support extremely valuable.

As for her other half...I think you may be quite off the mark. That last place the Obama-Biden administration wants the former President is anywhere near being the public face of their healthcare reform legislation.

[Carol Felsenthal - Huffpost Blogger]

Whoa!

I doubt that Joe Biden is in anyone's "corner" but his own.

One could make a cogent case that Biden is trying to undermine Obama. Consider his latest showstopper on Thursday:

“We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation....People, when I say that, look at me and say, 'What are you talking about, Joe? You're telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?' he said. "The answer is yes."

Biden has not ruled out running for president in 2012, assuming two terms for Obama, and neither has Hillary.

As for the downside of involving Bill Clintonin the fight for health care, I agree with you completely.

[LizM]

The problem with Joe Biden is that he speaks the unvarnished truth and most people are just not used to that sort of thing.

I can assure you that VP Biden will not be running for president in 2012! ...or did you mean, 2016...I seriously doubt that he would run then, either. If I were in a snarky mood, I would say that the country doesn't deserve him - but, I'm not and so I won't. :)

I can't wrap my mind around the possibility of seeing Secretary Clinton challenge President Obama in 2012 - never could, never will. That just doesn't make any sense to me, whatsoever. But, I guess stranger things have already happened. As for 2016, who knows?

So, I was wondering what you think about VP Biden taking the lead, so to speak, on Iraq?

[Carol Felsenthal - Huffpost Blogger]

WHOOPS--THANKS TO LIZ M FOR POINTING OUT A MISTAKE. i meant 2016, not 2012. My guess is that Obama will run for reelection in 2012 and that he will not have a serious primary opponent. Whether Obama will retain Biden as VP in 2012 is another story.

Hillary, I believe, will be a candidate in 2016 and possibly in 2012 if she gets tired of the diminished Secretary of State post. I suspect she's sorry that she gave up her Senate seat.