Should an Obama Presidency Be Bill Clinton's Third Term?

I was on Fox News yesterday to discuss the state of the campaign. You can watch the clip here. It telegraphs what I think could become a right-wing meme in the months after the election, should Barack Obama win, and should Obama make his administration merely an extension of the Clinton administration.

The first half of the interview is about the Obama informercial (which I said was a great idea) and about John McCain's criticism of Obama as a "socialist" (which I said was absurd, considering the Bush years have redistributed wealth up the income ladder). But where it really gets interesting is toward the end in a discussion about Bill Clinton.

Fox showed a clip of Clinton allegedly "complimenting" Obama for having called all of Clinton's economic advisers during the financial crisis. Clinton also "complimented" Obama for supposedly knowing nothing about the financial situation, but having the courage to admit he didn't know much and the courage to tell Clintonites he wanted to know more. This is problematic on a number of levels.

First (as I told Fox) why does Bill Clinton always need to make everything about Bill Clinton? We're five days from an election that is a referendum not only on Bush-ism, but on incrementalist Clintonism. And yet, Bill Clinton seems unable to realize that reality -- and is desperately trying to make sure the Obama presidency is, in part, about Bill Clinton.

Second, why does Bill Clinton need to reinforce the right-wing narrative that Obama's inexperience means he supposedly doesn't know anything about major issues before the country? True, that's not exactly what Clinton said -- but it is what he implied. Not good.

Third -- and perhaps most substantively concerning -- Clinton's entire narrative is the starting gun of what will be a very intense effort by the larger pool of Clintonites to infiltrate an Obama administration. If we can step back and look honestly at the economic situation, then we have to admit (as I admitted on Fox) that Clinton officials had a hand in the key deregulatory policies that led to the financial meltdown, and the key free-market fundamentalist policies (rigged trade deals, corporate tax loopholes, etc.) that are hollowing out the economy. These same people are now going to try to use an Obama presidency to reassume the posts they had in a Clinton administration. And the fact that, according to Bill Clinton, Obama is already potentially letting them - well, that's really disturbing (if unsurprising).

The hope is with a big enough election mandate, Obama will feel more empowered to sweep out the Clintonites and start fresh -- both in terms of personnel, and in terms of ideology. Because if he doesn't, not only could it stunt his policy agenda, it could also create political problems for him. The media -- and especially outlets like Fox News -- are going to be looking for weak points that allow them to tar and feather an Obama presidency as just "more of the same."

To be sure, I told Fox that having Bill Clinton campaign for Obama is a great thing. Bill Clinton is a great political asset to any campaign (if he's not implying that the guy he's campaigning for is uninformed). And while I don't love criticizing Democrats on Fox News, I thought that under the circumstances, it's important for progressives to start laying down markers about what we should and should not cheer on - what we should and should not expect from an Obama adminstration. In my opinion, it doesn't help Obama win the election, nor will it help his administration, to be painted as a mere second act for the last Democratic administration.

Making the Obama presidency the third term of Bill Clinton's presidency is both substantively inappropriate to the times, and politically dangerous/tone deaf. I hope that's not the path a President Obama takes, should he win the White House.

Comments

[jsgaetano]

Clinton: unprecedented peace and prosperity for all Americans... and even the world.

Yeah, I can see the far right would absolutely hate that.

[JubilationLeigh]

I understand your viewpoint, Mr. Sirota. But I think Obama is smart enough not to get stuck as Clinton 2.0. Not to insult Clinton, I would have voted for him both times if I had been old enough, but I think Obama's going to do things the way he thinks is right. I think he's more secure and confident then people are giving him credit for. Just look at the way he's campaigned. If he was that easily influenced or lacking his own ideas, I think his campaign would be going very differently (Clinton as VP?).

[RAVEN13]

The 106th Congress led by Trent Lott as Majority Leader and Dick Armey, were very much to blame
for the removal of the restriction that prevented the "casino style" approach to Wall Street business
dealings. This was an enlightening story covered by last Sunday's 60 Minutes. This was buried in the
last budget submitted by that congress to President Clinton. Of Course, Alan Greenspan was
advocating for the markets to self govern. That, was the beginning, of the "creative money instruments"
that have made millions for some and cost billions to the taxpayers.
Meanwhile...Republicans are selling the idea that "we're in this financial mess" because to the
Community Reinvestment Act. Or due to "minority" purchasers. How about, interest only loans?
Adjustable Rate loans? No document or credit check loans? These come from mortgage brokers!
They sell these loans off. The whole financial mess has greed at its root and the Repubs know it and
are complicit up to their necks. President Bush's "ownership society" was a "house of cards" that has
collapsed. Main Street is still waiting for its share of the "bailout".

[mommadona]

Absolutely NOT.

Obama needs to eliminate the DLC (that oxymoron of Democratic "leadership" Council).
They did nothing but ENABLE Bush et. al. DINOS.

Clintons started it up.

Nafta/Cafta...HA CHOO!

If he really wants 'change' the Bubba Baggage is NOT the way to go.
Also, he best stay out and away from this ridiculous "faith-based initiative" thing and cut off the funds going to the 'faith-based' 501c3s who are now using that status illegally for political and partisan reasons.

Keep the damn religions out of the state's business, Mr. Obama.

[mmgbizgirl]

What??!!??

[Transcendentobserver]

Got it Sirota!
Protocol for political success:

1. Totally embrace your wing of the Democratic Party spectrum and eliminate 2/3 of its constituency.

2. Reject the 8 most prosperous years in the nation's last half century, 3/4 of those years Clinton faced a hostile Congress controlled by the opposition, yet enacted a reasonably progressive workable program only after calling the bluff or its reactionary leadership to "shut the guv'ment down." Still he was convincingly reelected.

3. Ignore the fact that Sen. Clinton's and Sen. Obama's senatorial voting records are more than 95% identical, and the legislative programs virtually identical.

Hey Man! You must have a clear channel to the Almighty. No earthly insight would have conceived such a strategy.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

It's not even clear that Obama will sweep out all of the Republicans.

[Samson1]

Are you guys ever going to get over your "Clinton envy"? Give it up. Worry about real problems, like whether you actually win. How about this? Trust Obama to run his administration the right way. Or don't you trust him?

[anachoret]

Great post.
I agree and I hope you continue to give us more this opinion.

[darthdarcy]

No David it shouldn't be Clinton's third term, but with Robert Ruben in the mix, it no doubt will be..!

To bad Obama's not a Democratic Socialist, as John Stuart Mill was...

[Fabienne]

Bill Clinton destroyed the heart of the Democratic Party and I am hoping Obama will bring it back.

[Ugonna]

I didn't read this blog yet, but I'm responding anyway cause I agree with your TITLE so much. I'm a little scared that Bill expects Obama to get all his advice from him. I remember before the convention there was all this talk that Bill was pissed that Obama didn't seek his counsel on who his runningmate should be. Nonsense. While Barack should ask for help from time to time from any expert, he should be his own man at the end of the day and not some Bill pet project. So, any supporters who are looking for the Bill Clnton part 3 presidency should look somewhere else. I hope Obama remembers that the ideas at the end of the day, and the decisions, are all HIS. Anyway, he's proven time and time to have his own mind, thank god. He's even rejected some of his supporters's suggestions, and ended up being RIGHT.

That said, I'm glad Bill has warmed up to him. Makes things easier.

[racetoinfinity]

Precisely. As I've been writing for weeks, it's not comforting that Obama has Bob Rubin as one of his economic advisors, who on a talk show last Sunday, said he still thought that that Alan Greenspan had been a great Fed chairman (!) - (yes, for his Wall St. CEO and Citibank high-level cronies.), and generally b.s.ed about the current ponzi-scheme meltdown. Thankfully, he said he's not interested in a job as Sec'y of Treasury (or any other Washington job), but his like-minded peers may have influence in the Obama administration. I hope not, and I hope Obama turns to economists like Steiglitz, Krugman, Baker, and other more progressive (and rational) ones, not ones still wed largely to the utterly bankrupt and discredited Milton Friedman "free market" ideology.

[Hekerui]

Well, this anti- Clinton position certainly helped you land a spot on Fox. Congratulations! Feel free to divide the base further.

[judi4obama]

During the primaries it became obvious there were many similarities between Hillary's and Obama's policies, but I don't believe Obama is going to bringing many of the Clinton policies and staff on board. I feel that Obama has a unique approach and plan for his presidency, melding the best attributes from several policy resources, both liberal and conservative, with his own plans and ideas. I think he rejected Hillary as veep to avoid a Clinton infiltration of his administration. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong on this. I personally don't want to see this be a third term Clinton administration.