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Marc Cooper

Marc Cooper

Posted: January 27, 2008 03:25 AM

Big Dawg Clinton: Use 'em or Lose 'em?


After Saturday's whuppin' in South Carolina, will the Hillary campaign finally snap the muzzle down on Bill? Or has Big Dawg strayed completely out of control?

No question that as much as Slick Willie boosted Hill's campaign in New Hampshire and Nevada, he went a mound of dung too far in South Carolina. His shameful rampage against Obama, the latest episode coming in his implication that the Hillary's chief rival, started ticking off not only the political and media elites, but it also set off a ground-level backlash that directly contributed to Saturday's lopsided results.

The more Bill barked, the greater the number of voters who started reaching for the pepper spray.

I claim no special insight into the Hillary campaign. I can only pass along the sweaty beads of info that trickle out. Just as many people inside the campaign tell me that coordination between Bill and Hill couldn't be tighter and more closely calibrated as tell me the complete opposite: that Bill's in veritable political heat, that his verbal rutting is beyond anyone's control.

Clinton, or better said, the Clintons were expected to lose South Carolina but not by the crushing 2 to 1 margin that resulted. It was expected that Hillary would win more votes among white men than Obama. But not just by the meager single points in the final tally.

The definitive chapter in the Democratic primary now opens and will most likely culminate during the 22 state showdown on February 5. Until Saturday's crushing defeat in South Carolina, Clinton -with superior organization and institutional firewalls--was heavily favored in Super Tuesday mega-states of California, New York and New Jersey. Some of that confidence went up in smoke in the aftermath of Saturday's Palmetto State Massacre.

Hillary's handlers must now calculate quite precisely just how much more Bill Clinton should be deployed in these crucial next two weeks. Or how much he should be muzzled. Or if they even have a say in the matter.

Bill Clinton was, surely, a president who enjoyed great popularity. But also great scorn.

Use 'em, or lose 'em?

 
 
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01:30 PM on 01/30/2008
People don't change. Bill's ill brought up will stay with him until he "understands" peace-starts-at-home and gives up petty self-gratification in front of all America's children! Bill, you are either impossibly stupid or extremely selfish, most probably both, to intentionally do what's wrong! In fact, anyone intentionally choose to do what's wrong is either stupid or selfish, or both!

And only "birds of a feather flock together"!
02:21 AM on 01/29/2008
Imagine a school principal Bill and a young teacher Monica, and the xxx in principal's Oval Office. I bet parents, educators, and just about everyone would want to shield their children from disgusting, no moral, and shameless principal Bill. They want Bill to jump off the planet. Exposing young people to Bill, Monica, and Oval office? That's a no no. It'd be no no, harm harm, and never never world peace.
05:50 PM on 01/28/2008
At this point, I am so sick of Bill Clinton I could scream! I would sincerely WELCOME a REAL female candidate for the Presidency, but the LAST THING we need is some woman who is obviously running in place of her philandering and terminally embarrassing spouse!

And that is EXACTLY what Hillary is doing. Make no mistake about it!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
claudiam
Proud Arizona Democrat
02:36 PM on 01/28/2008
dbredes, Finally a woman who is using her brain!!! We need to vote for who is going to make changes for our country - not just to make a statement. And who can win. It is time to turn the page. I think the Kennedy's realize this. While there are those that do not like the Kennedy's few have lost as many family members in their commitment for our country. Thank you dbredes - I think you have made a wonderful statement/stand for your family.
11:52 AM on 01/28/2008
Bill is a big dog. Get over it.
Besides, Obama has all his attack dogs lined up, including his mini-Pincher wife who has all the charm of Condi Rice-meets-Omarosa.
We all know the Obama camp is worried about the Hillary camp, and they've found a scapegoat on which to dogpile: Bill.
Good luck on that.
If Obama gets past Hillary, the GOP will eviscerate him on just two points: his middle name and his no-account Muslim daddy.
Game, set, match.
09:06 AM on 01/28/2008
Give the guy a break. It is not easy to be a sexual predator.
09:04 AM on 01/28/2008
Is Hillary 1) UNABLE to control Bill or 2) UNWILLING to control him. Neither one is good. If she is UNWILLING to control him and she gets elected, we are in for more of the same partisan infighting that characterized Bill Clinton's presidency. If she is UNABLE to control him, then the importance of having the first female president is greatly diminished. She may make some of the decisions but he will really be the one calling the shots. That's not the image of a strong female leader that I want as a model for my daughters.
09:02 AM on 01/28/2008
Big dog, my left foot. Bill Clinton, with his red nose, wagging finger, long gray hair curliing over his collar looks like the '60s small town southern mayor yammering about uppity blacks trying to go where they weren't wanted. His roots have come to the surface over Obama. It's all about Bill. He knows he has a disappointing legacy and, like in a golf game, he's demanding a do over. Well, he doesn't get one from me. I'm sick of Clinton sleaze and scandal, their GOP politics, their sellout to the interests Corporate America. Bill Clinton has slimed this campaign with ugly race connotations, and what it shows us is that Bill Clinton is of a different time and place. Most of Obama's young voters weren't alive when Jesse Jackson ran for the presidency and won SC. Most blacks and whites who do remember the old days have moved past them. Shame on the Clintons for trying to introduce that old ugly infection back into America's lifeline.
08:41 AM on 01/28/2008
I'm happy that Bill Clinton is standing up to Barack on race. He can do it. No one seems to have the b---- to do it. Especially the media! Barack is the one playing the race card. It is his whole strategy. Barack is trying to get 40% of the white vote so he can win. Vote for me and you can feel good about yourself for "being above race" - like me.
Is Barack talking about issues? No. He claims if we join his personality cult, and believe he has superior judgement, we can win. And that is all that matters - right?
07:48 AM on 01/28/2008
I doubt that the election result in SC indicates anything except that Blacks will overwhelmingly vote for a Black candidate.
06:48 AM on 01/28/2008
Looking at some of the pictures with Bill and Hillary together...I think they look a little like my husband and me. Our children are Chelsea's age. My husband and Bill's hair color are pretty similar..and I look younger of course, since the older I get the blonder I become....hmmmmmm...

While my husband and I led very different lives than the Clintons, we came from the same time. Yes, I trained young men with college degrees to be my boss. I was the second woman ever allowed to become a member in the downtown Seattle Lions Club. It was a big deal. Then came our female senator - a mother in sneakers and another and finally a governor.

This is why, the idea of a "Woman President" is so exciting to me. Finally..finally..finally.. What a legacy to leave our girls...there...we did it...and So Can You!

So, it is with heavy heart that I cannot support Hillary's candidacy. Hillary is not "the one" whom we have eagerly awaited. The first woman president will not come from my generation.

It is time to turn the page and pass the guantlet.

This man, Obama has stirred the nation's heart to reach past the barriers of the past and begin a new chapter for America. Transcending issues of race or gender, he has brought hope and empowerment, to a new generation of democrats.

This is a "good thing".

For the sake of our girls, I will wait.
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janmB
INSPIRED
06:25 AM on 01/28/2008
KARL ROVE is alive and well---and he even gets YOU to help him as well as the MEDIA.

The Dirty-Tactics are to take Bill Clinton DOWN. Hillary can WIN against the republicans and that's what they are most afraid of.

No one else has the power the Clintons have and that's who KARL HEIN ROVE and his henchmen want to take out of the picture.
03:46 AM on 01/28/2008
I hope Bill keeps flapping his gums because it s starting to work against their campaign,you just can t spin the huge butt whuppin Billary got in S.C. other than a rejection of Bubba s race baiting,and no it wasn t all because of black voters...GO BARACK 08!!!!YES WE CAN!!!
03:13 AM on 01/28/2008
This blog is pure gibberish.
02:55 AM on 01/28/2008
Just remember - whoever runs against McCain, if he's the Repug candidate, will be running most likely against McCain-Lieberman (total traitor to the Dems).

I support John Edwards, but the media has totally ignored him and focused on Hillary and Obama. In terms of Bill, he should back off - way off. He could have been a big help to Hillary, but he is so self-absorbed and self-righteous (smarmy, even) that he starts frothing at the mouth with indignation that anyone would get in their way. Give me a break!