Barack Obama recently commented that there were three people instead of two in the race between himself and Hillary Clinton for the Democrat nomination: her husband Bill being the third. He felt there was some unfairness in recent remarks made by Bill about him and the active part he is playing in the campaign. I agree on both fronts.
There is no harm in Bill advising his wife, from the sidelines or in the background. Wives and husbands have a great role to play as supporting members of the team, from a respectful distance, not as the main players themselves. In this case, there are two main things wrong with Bill Clinton's current role.
First, Hillary is either running for president or it is her husband who is running again. But they cannot have it both ways. She cannot use her husband so publicly, then claim to be the one fit for office when Bill is doing most of the work to get her back in. If she is capable of being President of the United States, then she should be showing the American people how SHE alone is capable, not her husband. By employing Bill Clinton in such a visible way, even to attacking other candidates, she is giving a very powerful message of her own ineptitude in defending herself, setting out her stall and fighting her own battles. What she is actually saying, by allowing Bill to speak for her so blatantly, is: "Please vote for me, but it will be my husband who will be de facto president as I cannot achieve it on my own."
It is difficult to believe in someone who needs another person's help so publicly to put out their message. That's an admission of one's incapacity to deliver the goods. Bill Clinton might be great at drawing a crowd, persuading them into action and have the charisma she lacks, but Bill Clinton has already served his presidency and should be firmly in the background, if he is not to give the lie to the notion that we are really getting Hillary this time round. It doesn't seem like it at all. We appear to be getting a shared nomination, regardless of Hillary's intention, because there are clearly two people running this race.
Second, it should not be allowed for non-candidates to be making public derogatory comments about the named candidates in the campaign. It is unethical and unfair. One should be engaged in a fair contest with other candidates, not the rest of their families as well. It gives Hillary Clinton a clear advantage to have her husband acting like a candidate too.
I think it is time Bill Clinton stop campaigning on behalf of his wife so publicly, or stop making public statements against her opponents, for the integrity of the election process and the fairness required in that process. Otherwise, Bill's presence might help Hillary to get into the White House, indeed, but what kind of president would she really be in view of that, and just who would be the next president, in reality?
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