February 11, 2009 4:37 PM
- Text
All-About-Me Bill Clinton Now About Her
(CBS/AP)
Bill Clinton's career has always been about him — as in No. 1 or "me," "my" and "I."
Now it's about her.
Considered by friends to be as self-absorbed as he is brilliant, the former president will check his ego at the curb tonight in Iowa as he takes a surrogate's role in the presidential campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Her advisers privately fret that the former president will overshadow Sen. Clinton with his unparalleled campaign skills and career-long habit of drawing attention to himself. One of her confidants, still stinging from the Monica Lewinsky affair, refers to Clinton as "Mr. Me."
Although she continues to enjoy a poll, Hillary Clinton is trailing in most polls in Iowa—the first state to cast votes—reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod. That explains why she is breaking out her not-so-secret weapon: her husband Bill.
The senator needs his help, and her staff is betting that Bill Clinton is ready to be Mr. Her.
"No one knows Hillary Clinton more than Bill Clinton," Terry McAuliffe, Hillary's campaign chairman and the head of the Democratic National Committee, told CBS News Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm on Monday. "To have the former president, probably the most popular man in the world today, out there campaigning with Hillary across Iowa — obviously it's going to be a huge boost for us."
As an example of that boost, campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson pointed to a powerful, five-minute campaign video in which the former president outlines Sen. Clinton's biography. Framed by a lamp's soft yellow glow, Clinton talks about his wife's commitment to public service, starting in law school, where they met, and continuing throughout their years in Arkansas.
"She just kept plugging away with new ideas, making progress, day in and day out," Clinton says. "That's the kind of leader she is."
The video is a taste of things to come in Iowa, New Hampshire and beyond, campaign officials say.
Still, a few discerning Clinton associates note that he used the words "I," "me" and "my" 16 times in the video. They wryly observe that the taping was a model of self-control when compared with his past habits.
One friend, who refused to be identified because the couple frowns on anything close to criticism, said Clinton's rhetorical style brings to mind the hit country song by Toby Keith, "I Wanna Talk About Me."
The chorus goes like this: "I wanna talk about me." "Wanna talk about I." "Wanna talk about No. 1, oh-my-me-my, "What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see ... ."
This friend, and several other associates, said Clinton truly wants to promote his wife's candidacy and is getting better at it every day. They note that former presidents — much like former chief executive officers — find it difficult to stop talking about their accomplishments and the people who benefited from their leadership.
Now it's about her.
Considered by friends to be as self-absorbed as he is brilliant, the former president will check his ego at the curb tonight in Iowa as he takes a surrogate's role in the presidential campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Her advisers privately fret that the former president will overshadow Sen. Clinton with his unparalleled campaign skills and career-long habit of drawing attention to himself. One of her confidants, still stinging from the Monica Lewinsky affair, refers to Clinton as "Mr. Me."
Although she continues to enjoy a poll, Hillary Clinton is trailing in most polls in Iowa—the first state to cast votes—reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod. That explains why she is breaking out her not-so-secret weapon: her husband Bill.
The senator needs his help, and her staff is betting that Bill Clinton is ready to be Mr. Her.
"No one knows Hillary Clinton more than Bill Clinton," Terry McAuliffe, Hillary's campaign chairman and the head of the Democratic National Committee, told CBS News Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm on Monday. "To have the former president, probably the most popular man in the world today, out there campaigning with Hillary across Iowa — obviously it's going to be a huge boost for us."
As an example of that boost, campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson pointed to a powerful, five-minute campaign video in which the former president outlines Sen. Clinton's biography. Framed by a lamp's soft yellow glow, Clinton talks about his wife's commitment to public service, starting in law school, where they met, and continuing throughout their years in Arkansas.
"She just kept plugging away with new ideas, making progress, day in and day out," Clinton says. "That's the kind of leader she is."
The video is a taste of things to come in Iowa, New Hampshire and beyond, campaign officials say.
Still, a few discerning Clinton associates note that he used the words "I," "me" and "my" 16 times in the video. They wryly observe that the taping was a model of self-control when compared with his past habits.
One friend, who refused to be identified because the couple frowns on anything close to criticism, said Clinton's rhetorical style brings to mind the hit country song by Toby Keith, "I Wanna Talk About Me."
The chorus goes like this: "I wanna talk about me." "Wanna talk about I." "Wanna talk about No. 1, oh-my-me-my, "What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see ... ."
This friend, and several other associates, said Clinton truly wants to promote his wife's candidacy and is getting better at it every day. They note that former presidents — much like former chief executive officers — find it difficult to stop talking about their accomplishments and the people who benefited from their leadership.
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