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Bill Clinton's place in the 2008 race Wednesday, Jun 4, 2008 By David J. Sanders Speaking to a gathering of his wife's supporters Monday in South Dakota, Bill Clinton claimed that, "This may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind." Some took his words as a signal that his wife's campaign may be nearing its end, but Democrats may soon hope he exits politics for good. As the narrative of this Democratic Primary nears completion, two compelling storylines have emerged: Hillary Clinton's slow demise as her once inevitable candidacy came crashing down, and Barack Obama's transformation from a unifying, transcendent political force into a weakened candidate. Both Obama and Clinton should shoulder responsibility for their own shortcomings, but part of the story is Bill Clinton's impact as an equal opportunity train wreck. With a loose tongue he helped orchestrate his wife's ruin. But that's just for starters. By injecting race into what was going to be a divisive primary, Bill Clinton may have assured Obama's political ruin. At the time, Obama's epic victory on Iowa's plains seemed to constitute an almost seismic event. How a black politician from Chicago's South side captured a majority of that state's white vote puzzled many. Without being very specific, talking heads on the left and right heralded him as the embodiment of a cultural and generational shift away from the divisive politics of old and toward a new, more conciliatory politics. But the earth would soon move under Obama's feet as well. Hillary unexpectedly carried New Hampshire, partly because of her husband. Bill, beloved in the Granite State, dismissed Obama's ascendancy as nothing more than a "fairytale." Polls at the time showed Hillary enjoying significant support in the black community while blacks largely viewed Obama with hesitation. The story coming out of New Hampshire was that she had gotten things back on track and he wasn't the wunderkind. However, as the contest moved to South Carolina, Bill Clinton executed this election cycle's defining ? perhaps fatal - moment. Having regained momentum, the temptation to bury Obama and help cement Hillary's nomination proved irresistible. Bill and perhaps in the entire Clinton campaign must have thought they could play the race card. Obama was no more that an updated Jesse Jackson. In the run-up to and after that primary, the former president enthusiastically connected the dots for reporters. Sure, Obama could win South Carolina, Clinton conceded. Hadn't Jesse Jackson twice carried the state - first in the 1984 primary and then four years later? Bill tried to marginalize Obama. He was not the transcendent figure; he was the "black candidate." But unlike Jackson, Obama wasn't immediately viewed as a divisive figure. He held onto upper-class white Democrats. The two candidates battled on, but race was a central part of the narrative. Hillary struggled to regain her footing. She began winning again by openly seeking and relying on the support of poorer, white Democrats whom she and Bill had helped make very uneasy with Obama. The task was made easier after Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, became a household name. Hillary won big with white voters in Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The message was anything but subtle; Obama might be able to win the nomination, but was unelectable in the fall. Heading into Tuesday's final two primaries, there was no scenario that allowed Hillary to win the nomination. That said, although it may not be obvious yet, Obama is burdened with serious questions about his electability. I guess Bill Clinton's strategy worked ... sort of. ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and is a host of the Arkansas Education Television Network's "Unconventional Wisdom." His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
