An assignment to the mediasphere and blogosphere
Well, that South Carolina debate sure was pleasant, wasn’t it? I’m intrigued by Obama deciding to bring up the “Bill issue,” as it were: Mrs. Clinton?s campaign this week in South Carolina is essentially running Mr. Clinton against Mr. Obama. The two have been engaged in a war of words, with Mr. Clinton accusing the ...
Well, that South Carolina debate sure was pleasant, wasn't it? I'm intrigued by Obama deciding to bring up the "Bill issue," as it were: Mrs. Clinton?s campaign this week in South Carolina is essentially running Mr. Clinton against Mr. Obama. The two have been engaged in a war of words, with Mr. Clinton accusing the Obama campaign of voter coercion in the Nevada caucuses, and Mr. Obama saying on Monday that Mr. Clinton had made comments that were ?not factually accurate? and that his advocacy for his wife had grown ?pretty troubling.?.... Mr. Clinton has drawn particular criticism for saying, just before Mrs. Clinton?s victory in the New Hampshire primary, that Mr. Obama?s depiction of his steady opposition to the Iraq war was ?a fairy tale,? given that Mr. Obama voted for a time for Iraq war financing and once indicated that he was not sure how he would have voted on authorizing military action in Iraq. At the Ebenezer congregation on Monday, an Obama supporter, Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, appeared to take a shot at Mr. Clinton over that comment as he sat a few feet away. ?In this beautiful, all-American morning,? Ms. Franklin said, ?we are at the cusp of turning the impossible into reality. Yes, this is reality, no fantasy or fairy tale.?Pundits are also chatting up Bill Clinton's advocacy. Which leads to my question to readers and reporters: it would seem that the obvious comparison to Bill Clinton's conduct in the 2008 campaign is George H.W. Bush's conduct during the 2000 campaign. To what extent has President Clinton's advocacy for his wife exceeded Bush's advocacy for his son? Combing through Google news archives during the primary phase of the campaign, it's tough to find much at all on Bush pere. There are a few mentions of Bush's father campaigning for his son, but frankly, there was less than I expected. I could not find anything about Bush attacking McCain, Forbes, or other primary candidates (which does not mean anything can't be found). Even more surprisingly, I can't find a story this month that has made this comparison (again, that does not mean anything can't be found). Question to readers: has Bill Clinton crossed the line in campaigning for his wife? Is there a line to cross?
Well, that South Carolina debate sure was pleasant, wasn’t it?
I’m intrigued by Obama deciding to bring up the “Bill issue,” as it were:
Mrs. Clinton?s campaign this week in South Carolina is essentially running Mr. Clinton against Mr. Obama. The two have been engaged in a war of words, with Mr. Clinton accusing the Obama campaign of voter coercion in the Nevada caucuses, and Mr. Obama saying on Monday that Mr. Clinton had made comments that were ?not factually accurate? and that his advocacy for his wife had grown ?pretty troubling.?…. Mr. Clinton has drawn particular criticism for saying, just before Mrs. Clinton?s victory in the New Hampshire primary, that Mr. Obama?s depiction of his steady opposition to the Iraq war was ?a fairy tale,? given that Mr. Obama voted for a time for Iraq war financing and once indicated that he was not sure how he would have voted on authorizing military action in Iraq. At the Ebenezer congregation on Monday, an Obama supporter, Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, appeared to take a shot at Mr. Clinton over that comment as he sat a few feet away. ?In this beautiful, all-American morning,? Ms. Franklin said, ?we are at the cusp of turning the impossible into reality. Yes, this is reality, no fantasy or fairy tale.?
Pundits are also chatting up Bill Clinton’s advocacy. Which leads to my question to readers and reporters: it would seem that the obvious comparison to Bill Clinton’s conduct in the 2008 campaign is George H.W. Bush’s conduct during the 2000 campaign. To what extent has President Clinton’s advocacy for his wife exceeded Bush’s advocacy for his son? Combing through Google news archives during the primary phase of the campaign, it’s tough to find much at all on Bush pere. There are a few mentions of Bush’s father campaigning for his son, but frankly, there was less than I expected. I could not find anything about Bush attacking McCain, Forbes, or other primary candidates (which does not mean anything can’t be found). Even more surprisingly, I can’t find a story this month that has made this comparison (again, that does not mean anything can’t be found). Question to readers: has Bill Clinton crossed the line in campaigning for his wife? Is there a line to cross?
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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