In Campaign, Bill Clinton Is A Free Agent

Washington Post: As He Tours Globe, He Is As Likely To Talk About Himself As Hillary's Run

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Anne E. Kornblut.

---

In the complex transformation of Bill Clinton from former president to candidate's spouse, last week was typical.

One night in New York, he showered affection on his wife during her 60th-birthday-party-slash-fundraiser, joking that when a 23-year-old Hillary Rodham met him at law school decades earlier, "the poor child didn't know any better" than to talk to him. Another day, the two appeared together in Harlem.

But at other points in the week Clinton did not share a stage with his wife, the junior senator from New York. During an expansive speech at his presidential library here, he pivoted from issue to issue, touching on subjects including social inequality, the Nobel Prize and his recent appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

In more than 45 minutes, Clinton failed to mention one timely topic: his wife's presidential campaign. Another day, in Minneapolis, he paid tribute to a prominent donor to her campaign without invoking Hillary's name at all.

Exactly how Clinton would conduct himself during this unprecedented process has been a subject of much speculation from the outset. Advisers worried that his charisma might eclipse his wife, that his past marital misconduct might become an issue again, or that after years of dominating public attention it would be hard for him to cede the spotlight.

But so far, he has maneuvered the uncharted territory of running what amounts to a third presidential campaign largely as a free agent -- attending occasional strategy meetings with senior advisers at the couple's home in Chappaqua, N.Y., and serving as a surrogate in places his wife cannot be, but rarely making his presence felt at the campaign's headquarters in Arlington, several campaign officials said. He is at times out of the loop on campaign strategy and developments, they said.

Whether the remoteness is real or for show is difficult to measure; Hillary Clinton has sought to present herself as her own candidate and to assure voters that she would exercise her own judgment if elected.

But in several television and campaign appearances, and by virtue of his recent travels -- doing the duties of a former president, promoting his new book, championing his foundation work -- Clinton has seemed convincingly on his own, arguably promoting his own causes as much as hers.

Federal election rules are such that Clinton cannot advocate for his wife unless her campaign is financing the event. So as he tours the globe wearing his other hats, he is likely to talk about himself as much as the current presidential candidate.

There is every reason for him to talk about his own life and work, of course. He is one of the most sought-after speakers in the world, collecting about $40 million in fees since leaving office. A Clinton campaign adviser said the former president is still giving some paid speeches, but far fewer these days given his other obligations. (The campaign declined to disclose the precise amount he is taking in speaking fees, a figure that will become public when Hillary Clinton's personal financial disclosure forms are filed later this year.)

Advisers said Clinton maintains an open line to Jay Carson, his former spokesman who now works on his wife's campaign; Mark Penn, his former pollster who is now her chief strategist; and Patti Solis Doyle, the campaign manager. But they said he tends to offer his advice most readily in direct conversations with his wife.

Clinton's approval ratings remain stratospheric, with little evidence in most polling data to suggest that he is having any negative impact on his wife's campaign. Many voters in both parties say they would welcome his influence in a future Clinton administration.

Campaign advisers are aware that they cannot deploy the former president as freely as Barack Obama's campaign might Michelle Obama, or as John Edwards's campaign might Elizabeth Edwards, because of Federal Election Commission rules regulating how his campaign appearances are paid for and because of the extra scrutiny he receives.

At the same time, campaign officials do not want to squander his star power through overuse. One adviser compared it to using "conventional weapons versus a nuclear bomb -- when he goes places, it's a huge deal."

"We've never seen anything like this," said Skip Rutherford, a former director of the Clinton Presidential Library who is now dean of the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. "This is a completely new role and completely new ground in American politics."

Clinton has played an important pseudo-surrogate role at times. A week and a half ago, he headlined a closed fundraiser in Florida -- where his wife has pledged not to campaign after the state party moved its primary date up in violation of Democratic National Committee rules. (Under DNC rules, the candidate could have attended the fundraiser herself, but she chose to dispatch her husband.)

Still, Clinton is keeping his profile high in other ways that are only tangentially about his wife. Between a recent book tour and the annual Clinton Global Initiative summit in New York, he has amply promoted his own causes over the past two months.

[terrorislam4]

more terrorislam sponsored genocide

Thinktank accuses Saudi regime over hate literature

The controversial state visit of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, which got under way today with a lavish ceremony, has prompted new criticism over his regime''''s alleged role in distributing hate literature in British mosques.
The Policy Exchange thinktank found extremist literature in a quarter of the 100 mosques and Islamic institutions it visited, including London Central Mosque in Regent''''s Park, which is funded by Saudi Arabia.

Some of the literature advocated violent jihad, murdering gay people and stoning adulterers, its researchers found.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,,2201805,00.html

[gunownerdan]

Bill And Hillary are both members of the CFR(Council on Foreign Relations).
The CFR has hijacked the foreign policy of both parties and their main goal is to destroy American soveriengty and our constitution leading to the formation of a North American Union with Canada and Mexico.
CFR MEMBERS:
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Hillary Clinton
D ick Cheney
Rudy Giuliani
Barack Obama
Mitt Romney
John Edwards
John McCain
Fred Thompson
Bill Richardson
Mike Huckabee
Joe Biden

Dr. Ron Paul is NOT a member of the CFR and he is the only anti-war and pro-liberty candidate running for president.
ronpaul2008.com

[antoniof123]

I love it the neocns are in a panic they are faced with a great American President supporting his wife and they don''t know what to do. They swift boated these two for years now all they can do is call them names.

Hey neocns let me tell you this in 1994 Bill Clinton was a beat dog when the Republicans swept into power. So he jumped and asked the American people how high on the way up. We watched and realized he was going to listen to us so we the American people voted him to a second term and he won by the majority of the votes.

Now froward a few years 12 to be exact. The Democrats swept to power in 2006. George Bush was a beat dog, but instead of listening to the American people (that is what he is supposed to do). He said I am the decider and him and his 30 percent (not the majority of the American people) hunkered down and said we will tell you what to do not the other way around.

Well, we the American people will not be told by a party what is best for America. So this is why not any other reason but this that no matter what you do this President has domed the GOP to another 40 to 80 years of being out of power and favor.

Good luck with the swift boat adds I don''t think they worked after McCarthy either.

[xlib]

Oh sweetie, you bring up the McCarthy era and you can post that with what is going on NOW!! Stifling of free speech, the WH website to snitch on those of us who have the AUDACITY to question the thug. The constant berating of anything conservative. Tell me there libtard, I don't recall Bush EVER, EVER going after any of the left wing pundits, like mathews or olberman. NEVER.
So tell me, when you lost 2 presidential elections (oh yea, since you lost it MUST have been rigged) and Congress during the great clinton years.
You know what, I really wish your state run media would stop running all these libtard feel good, march down memory lane stories and cover what the thug administration in doing to the country. Of course, the chances of them actually running a true story is slim to none.

[bellamia7]

Here is an open letter from Juanita Broderick, who has accused Bill Clinton of raping her, to Hillary Clinton. Hillary is the grand enabler. Will she also enable tyrants and encourage their bad behavior as well?

http://www.apfn.org/apfn/Juanita.htm

[usaprophet]

Some people say, "a Republican? I''d never vote for a Republican." Let me remind you folks that Abraham Lincoln, who freed the slaves, and who won the war to preserve our Union, WAS himself a Republican. Would you have voted for Stephen Douglas, who was ardently pro slavery, against Lincoln simply because he was a Democrat. Of course you wouldn''t. It''s the person your voting for, and the ideas he or she represents, NOT the party. Paul represents a different Republican Party from the one that Iraq, deficits and corruption have soured the country on. The Republican party has "lost its way," he said recently during a GOP debate. Like the limited federal government principles espoused by Dwight D. Eisenhower, his school of Republicanism stands for a certain idea of the Constitution that much of the power asserted by modern Presidents has been usurped from Congress, and that much of the power asserted by Congress has been usurped from the States. Though Paul acknowledges flaws in both the Constitution (it included slavery) and the Bill of Rights (it doesn%u2019t go far enough), he still thinks a comprehensive array of positions can be drawn therefrom: against gun control; for the sovereignty of States; and against foreign-policy adventures like the ones currently being played-out in the Mid-East. After ten terms of service as a U.S. Congressman, Ron Paul has demonstarted a consistent track record of adherance to The Constitution which is unmatched by anyone in either party. Go Ron Paul!

[usaprophet]

I don''t know about you, but I''m sick of no-win pseudo-wars, like The War on Drugs and The War on Terrorism. I''m sick of undeclared wars like The War in Iraq and unnecessary and protracted police actions like the one in Korea. I''m sick of income taxes, which are unconstitutional because they are are a direct tax and are not equally apportioned as the Constitution requires. I''m sick of back door national ID cards like The Real ID Act. I''m sick of warrantless domestic spying by the Department of Homeland Insecurity and the loss of my civil liberties as a result of Draconian, fear-based Laws with oxymoronic names like The Patrot Act. I''m sick of secret offshore prisons like the one in Guantanamo, where our government tortures prisoners, who have no right to redress of grievance, or to writ of habeus corpus. I''m also sick of the Federal Reserve (a secret group of private banks) manipulation of our worthless, fiat currency. Do yourself a favor. Support the 2008 candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul for President of The United States. I believe he''s our only hope to restore peace, prosperity and freedom in this country. Presidential candidates with the integrity and the consistent track record of adherance to our Constitution that Ron Paul has demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky. The stakes are too high, and the cause of freedom is too important to let anything stand in the way of our participation in this 21st Century political revolution. Go Ron Paul!

[speakinup]

tylenol6 - you are talking to liberals - they are incapable of waking up.

Their sports team is winning, and they don''t care that the quarterback likes dog fighting.

[speakinup]

"Man I love the Clintons! They ARE America''s couple.
She''s doing so well that I think she could win the election by doing pretty much nothing. All of the repub candidates are quite boring again. Posted by jh6379

Isn''t that sweet - we all feel so terrible for Hillary getting publicly humilated by her husband, that we''re going to make her a president.

Dems are so stupid. They have made getting into office a popularity contest.

Just WHAT has she done to be presidential material ?

Baaa baaaa baaaaaaaa - I hear the sheep now.

[baghdadshere]

Folks, think twice before voting in any Clintoon. There are rumors Hillary is gayy and that explains why her husband engaged in a sexuall act with Monica. A gayy as president would be a disgrace for this nation. As president she would give gayss so many rights that heteros would have to fight to have the same rights of homosexualss.

[gunownerdan]

Bill and Hillary are members of the CFR(Council on Foreign Relations) just like George W. Bush, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain, John Edwards, and Bill Richardson.
The CFR has hijacked the foreign policy of both parties and their main goal is to destroy American soveriengty and our constitution leading to the formation of a North American Union with Canada and Mexico.
Dr. Ron Paul is NOT a member of the CFR and he is the only anti-war and pro-liberty candidate running for president.
ronpaul2008.com

[baghdadshere]

Tens of thousands of them. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world?
-------------------------------------
You are deadly wrong. A nuclear bomb in the hands of a president who is the greatest apologyst of terrorism, whose country sponsors all terrorist organizations in this world, and vowed to wipe another country off the map, would indeed mean the end of the world or at least the arabic world.

[usaprophet]

You get the sense that the country is desperate for someone to show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW WAY. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50 years. Tens of thousands of them. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of Iraq, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas Republican Presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. Ron Paul has been married to the same woman for more than 50 years, which means he doesn''t come to the race with the sort of baggage some of the other candidates for the White House do. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. He was once a pious Lutheran, but now attends a Baptist church. He never travels alone with women, and once even dressed-down an aide for using the expression "red-light district" in front of a female colleague. I support the 2008 candidacy of Congressman, Ron Paul for President of The United States. Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and track record of adherance to The Constitution Ron Paul always demonstrates only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky. Go Ron!

[hawksprings]

Bill and Hillary are so dysfunctional they make Ozzie and Sharon Osbourne look like Ward and June Cleaver.

[gunownerdan]

The Bushes and the Clintons are the very definition of government corruption.
Not to mention the fact that congress has become a safe-house for prostitutes and other criminals.

[tylenol6]

HITLERY = CORRUPT!!!!!!!!!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!

[rerrorislam3]

Teacher says, every time a liberal is victimized, a conservative is born

Zuzu Bailey: Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/quotes

[gunownerdan]

"Wow. It''''s better to kill hundreds of thousands in Iraq and Afganistan than dozens in Waco?"
Posted by ge556

Actually BOTH parties are full of murderous baby killers. That''s why I support the ONLY anti-war and pro-liberty candidate running for president.
Dr. RON PAUL
ronpaul2008.com

[rerrorislam3]

Will the kkklintoons excape justice again???

Roughcut Trailer for- Hillary!Uncensored -ORDER DVD to be released NOV 5 on www.realhillary.com- and www.ejfa.org- the Documentary - ... all ; Exclusive Home Videos of Hillary Expose the Illegalities that won her Senate Election & the Obstructions of Justice That Keep Her There- (www.hillcap.org) and (www.peterfpaul.com) to be released on November 1, 2007 by Equal Justice Foundation of America - ORDER DVDs of Full One Hour Film and-CONTRIBUTE TO EJFA, NON-PROFIT WHISTLEBLOWER FOUNDATION https://www.registrationfactory.com/v3/?EventUUID=2A54FEC2 TO ADVERTISE AND PUBLICIZE the ONLY Documentary that dares to expose the evidence of Hillary''s misconduct to the American people - Banned by the Mainstream Media!

http://www.hillary-uncensored.com

Part 1 of the shocking exposi on the blatant campaign finance corruption perpetrated by Hillary Clinton. See how she accepted millions of dollars in campaign contributions (illegally), denied it, then tried to cover it up.

Can you really trust someone like this with the presidency? Share this link with everyone you know:

http://www.hillary-uncensored.com

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdUdkFMFrkQ

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VR2Y3Pcwg0

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uCtkwZgnms

Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wrOr8VGt0o

Please never forget the dozens of innocent children, women, and senior citizens burned alive by the Clinton administration at Waco.
We don''''t need any more baby killers in the white house!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. It''s better to kill hundreds of thousands in Iraq and Afganistan than dozens in Waco?

[xlib]

AHHH, the ever popular moral equivalent of the left. So, because we are in Iraq it's ok that bubba allowed WACO! You people and the workings of your minds amazes me.

[rerrorislam3]

free agent,,, he should be a non free convict,,,

hahahaha people paying to read and listen to an admitted, proven, convicted, impeached, disbarred liar%u2026lol
For Clinton, New Wealth In Speeches
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/22/AR2007022202189.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/AR2007022100993_pf.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17263999/

Sales of Bill Clinton book drops
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071016/ap_on_el_pr/bill_clinton_book_1

sandy ham burglar

He%u2019s back: Sandy Berger now advising Hillary Clinton
http://www.examiner.com/a-977346~He_s_back__Sandy_Berger_now_advising_Hillary_Clinton.html

WHAT DO KLINTOON AND SANDY HAM BURGLAR HAVE IN COMMOM HAHAHA
Former Clinton Aide Sandy Berger Forfeiting Law License
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewFlash.asp?Page=/ThisHour/Archive/NTH20070517e.html

Clinton blasts 9/11 film, amid report of changes
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/08/abc.movie/index.html