Love or hate Bill Clinton -- and a lot of people do -- you gotta admire the guy's staying power.
He cheated on his wife multiple times. He looked the American public in the eye and lied. He was impeached. He launched bitter exchanges with Barack Obama during the last presidential election.
So who, besides Obama himself, is on center stage for Democrats this presidential campaign? The one and only.
First, Obama gave Clinton the premier speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, bouncing his own vice president from Wednesday's primetime spot. Clinton will officially put Obama's name up for nomination during the most-watched pre-Obama speech of the convention. Joe Biden was reduced to introducing the president Thursday night.
Now, Obama is using Clinton in a new TV ad that will air in North Carolina and seven other, mostly swing, states (including Florida, Ohio, Virginia and Nevada). Clinton says in the 30-second spot that the Obama-Romney battle offers voters "a clear choice."
"The Republican plan is to cut more taxes on upper income people and go back to deregulation. That's what got us in trouble in the first place," Clinton says in the ad. "President Obama has a plan to rebuild America from the ground up. ... It only works if there's a strong middle class. That's what happened when I was president."
President Obama clearly believes Clinton is still popular and can effectively persuade voters. And who can question that? Gallup found in a July poll that two-thirds of all Americans have a favorable opinion of Clinton, tying his record high from the time of his first inauguration in 1993. Democrats love him -- 90 percent to 8 percent. And as important, independents like him too: 62 percent have a favorable opinion to 30 percent unfavorable. Even Republicans are divided about Clinton: 50 percent have an unfavorable opinion of him and 44 percent have a favorable opinion.
How about you? What do you love -- or hate -- about Bill Clinton, and what do you predict for his performance in Charlotte?
-- Taylor Batten
Does this have anything to do with that recent sex slave trade story?
ReplyDeleteSlick Willy still has a lot of political pull, he is still extremely popular. Though the rumors that have been flying around, is he would only come to the DNC if he got the role he got. Originally Obama wanted him to do an earlier speech and not that one. Obama and Clinton don't like each other though they share a lot of political idealogy.
ReplyDeleteBatten, it sounds like you wish you were Monika!
ReplyDelete2/3 of Americans have a favorable opinion of a disbarred lawyer who lied to his wife and, while under oath, to the whole country. Tells one something about the present crop of Americans, huh.
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