Hillary Clinton Embraces Husband's Legacy

Washington Post: Former "Co-President" Runs On Bill Clinton's Record And Her White House Experience

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

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After months of discussion within her campaign over how heavily she should draw on her husband's legacy, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is closing out her Iowa and New Hampshire campaigns in a tight embrace of Bill Clinton's record, helping fuel a debate about the 1990s with Sen. Barack Obama that she thinks she can win.

As part of the Clinton strategy, the former president is playing an increasingly prominent public role as an advocate for his wife. He appears to have overcome concerns within the campaign over how closely she should associate her candidacy with his time in office and over whether his appearances could draw attention away from her.

Both Clintons are making the case that theirs was a co-presidency - an echo of Bill Clinton's controversial statement during the 1992 campaign that voters would get "two for the price of one" if they elected him. At times, the former president has seemed to cast the current race as a referendum on his administration.

Hillary Clinton (N.Y.), the Democratic front-runner nationally but facing strong challenges in Iowa and New Hampshire from Obama, has shifted her emphasis repeatedly over the past few months as the senator from Illinois made inroads in the two states. She has tried to show a more "human" side, and on Friday brought along her daughter, Chelsea, and her mother to events here titled "The Hillary I Know."

She has tried to co-opt the message of change from Obama, declaring that she has been "working for change" her entire life. Over the past week, she injected the phrase "new beginning" into her stump speech.

But the unchanging core of Clinton's message is her experience, and in recent days she has presented the election as a binary choice: between a competent, experienced Clinton and novices such as Obama. "That's the kind of logic that got us George Bush in the first place," she said this week in Iowa.

And the main basis for her assertion is the time she spent as first lady. Bill Clinton is hitting the theme hard as the voting in Iowa and New Hampshire draws closer, pointing back to the 1990s, citing his record as his wife's, referring to the work "we" did in office and, for the most part, brushing past or ignoring the tumult of those years.

Nowhere is the back-to-the-future approach more visible than here in the state where the then-Arkansas governor overcame a scandal to become the self-proclaimed "comeback kid" in the 1992 Democratic primary and to finish second to former senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts.

Campaigning here on Friday, Hillary Clinton recalled that voters complained back then about lacking health care, fearing unemployment and facing home foreclosures. "And we listened and we acted and we had the best economy that our country has seen in a generation. And now I'm back in New Hampshire" hearing many of the same complaints, she said.

Obama has made challenging the 1990s a mainstay of his platform, saying it is time to "turn the page" on the partisanship - and implicitly the scandals - of the Clinton era. This is a major part of his case that he is the most electable Democrat, able to expand the electoral base to states where Hillary Clinton is still viewed as polarizing.

But the Clintons regard any discussion of the Nineties to be good for them, evoking memories of a booming economy and a time when the United States enjoyed greater popularity around the world.

Clinton is preparing to make a closing argument to Iowa and New Hampshire voters that would center on the challenges of the presidency, arguing that only she can be trusted to handle the surprises and rigors of the job, according to her senior advisers. That emphasis, on her experience and her track record, makes the previous Clinton administration a vital part of her case.

Right after Christmas, these advisers said, Clinton plans to make the case on national security grounds, citing the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as evidence that unexpected crises can arise. The argument is in some ways similar to the one President Bush made in 2004, when he campaigned on what he described as his proven leadership in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks and said the terrorist threat called for keeping him in the job. But Clinton is playing on more than just national security concerns, discussing economic security, as well.

"Time to pick a president" is the new theme, which will be unveiled in Iowa next week.

The idea of a restoration - or as the campaign puts it, a "new beginning" - is particularly strong in the speeches Bill Clinton is giving in Iowa and New Hampshire on his wife's behalf.

On Thursday night in Holderness, N.H., the former president returned again and again in his hour-long speech to the achievements of his administration as proof that his wife would be able to bring results if she were elected. Several times, he cited the statistics on the economic gains of the 1990s - the rise in family income, the decline in poverty and in the number of uninsured, and the increase in students obtaining college aid ("I still know the numbers," he said).

He contrasted these gains with what has occurred during the Bush administration, casting the past seven years as a dismal detour or regression in the march of progress that began in the 1990s and would continue with Hillary Clinton's election. "Hillary says, 'My vision is that America must make a new beginning by first rebuilding the middle-class dream,'" he said.

For all his talk about the 1990s, though, the former president does not go into great detail about the role his wife played in his administration, instead simply leaving the impression that she was part of the team that brought about the decade's gains.

He credits her with helping create the Children's Health Insurance Program, after her push for universal health care failed, and he talks about her trips abroad, building ties in foreign countries and speaking out on controversial subjects such as women's rights in Beijing and female genital mutilation in Africa. He briefly mentions her assistance in achieving peace in Northern Ireland and the Balkans.

At times, his pitch for his wife is focused so much on his own accomplishments as president that it almost sounds as if he himself is running for reelection. In a two-hour interview Thursday with the Concord Monitor, he referred to his having made a "terrible mistake" while president, an apparent reference to the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal, and then added: "The voters will have to make their own judgments about that. I've done everything I could, first of all, to try to be a good president and, secondly, to try to be a good after-president."

[samthetvcat]

"If Bush is a ''shrub'', that must make you a weed. A real intellectual midget. I''m sure you think you could have done sooooo much better."
Posted by Infidel_Us

Gore

[colonieny]

The FIRST WOMAN PResident ? WE already had one, CARTER. So, do you want another ?

[infidel_us]

But I think the chances of another Shrub actually getting the nom are lessened if the vengeance motive is not there . . . who knows though . .
Posted by SamTheTVCat at 07:29 PM : Dec 24, 2007

If Bush is a ''shrub'', that must make you a weed. A real intellectual midget. I''m sure you think you could have done sooooo much better.

[infidel_us]

We need to get behind the wise leader that can win and unite the country - and lead us out of the global mess. Vote for Obama.
Posted by julianbook at 03:36 PM : Dec 24, 2007

Although I don''t support democrats, I applaud you for your thoughtful, honest assessmnent of the Clintons. You are bang-on the money! The fact that she has so many imbeciles who support her is a sad commentary on the lack of education in this country.

[demwatcher]

SBB2211

Dang dude! You been doing some heavy homework. I checked up on some of your numbers and they jive, so you just aint throwing stuff out there.

Great information showing the truth about the Clintons!

Anyone that can still call that waste a hero is a delusional fugger!

[realpatriot1]

solomonred,

The time to oppose the invasion of Iraq was before it happened. That was the time to determine if the mission actually served our national interest.That was not the time to send our troops into combat without a post invasion plan, a sufficient
number of troops, and a plan foe disengaging the troops once the original mission was accomplished.

Once the troops were there all elected officials had a responsibility to provide them with logistical support unless they could muster the votes to get them out.

Obama did right by the troops in both instances. Clinton, Edwards, and McCain did not.

[samthetvcat]

If Bubba had never been caught cheating on Hillary and been impeached, I wonder if Hillary would even be running for President. Like is winning a way for her to restore her dignity and for Bubba to patch up his legacy? I feel like that''s the flavor they give, which is why so many people are rehashing the wars of the 90''s.

The danger in getting drawn into this for me is the alarming possibility that either:

1) People sense this, and don''t want to send the message to the Clinton''s that they think this behavior was okay - hence Hillary loses, or

2) Hillary wins and the RepubliCONS then bring in Jeb in 2012. Shrub has left whoever inherits the white house so many fires to put out, there''s a good chance whoever wins isn''t going to make many people happy with their administration. Is Hillary winning important enough that we''re willing to put up with Jeb in 4 years?

Hillary''s the vengeance vote, and vengeance begets vengeance . . . I suppose there''s always a chance if we vote in somebody else that we''ll still have to face the possibility of another Bush in 2012. But I think the chances of another Shrub actually getting the nom are lessened if the vengeance motive is not there . . . who knows though . . .

[sbb2211]

antoniof123

You must LOVE the fantasy world that you live in.

When faced with facts, you Liberals claim that they do not matter.

History ha NOT been written, and Hillary'' run will just force the issues BACK into the light of justice.

Bill will burn AGAIN! I wonder if he can be impeached again? Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

[antoniof123]

I am truly amazed at the right wing nuts. They are still trying to discredit Bill Clinton, forget it wing nuts history has been drawn he will go down in histroy as one of the greats so you can stick it in your pipe and smoke it.

Here is why:

In 1994 when the Republicans swept into power, Bill Clinton instead of defying the Amercian people jumped and we were suprised that it came from a President. So we let the Republicans who came to power on the promise of Contract with America due to him what they did; A Witch Hunt. But he abided by the Contract with America and for that he was elected twice (not appointed by the Superme Court sorry nut cases but that is facts). Then we told the Republicans to stop and stay out of his personal life but they refused. So in 1998 we voted out more Republicans out of congress but they weren''t happy with that and still continued to pruse their witch hunt.

Then in 2006 the Democrats swept to power, but instead of jumping as their masters said to do they hunkered down and told America they were the deciders and we would do as they told us. For a time they will get their way but in the end this administration (the one that was appointed by the superme court) will go down in infamy as the worst administration in American history.

So stop trying to make a President that has approval rating in the 60 percent look bad you are just making him look better as if we don''t already know.

[solomonred]

Many of Obama''s supporter still echo his opinion in 2002, before Obama became senator, that he was against "a dumb war" ...Well that''s well and good Obama, because when he became Senator, spineless Obama had voted to consistantly to fund the Iraq War, as Clinton!!!

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 10:

THE ARKANSAS COMMITTEE: What would later be known as the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy actually began on the left - as a group of progressive students at the University of Arkansas had formed the Arkansas Committee to look into Mena, drugs, money laundering, and Arkansas politics. This committee was the source of some of the important early Clinton stories including those published in the Progressive Review.

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 9:

UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENA

- FBI files misappropriated by the White House: c. 900
- Estimated number of witnesses quoted in FBI files misappropriated by the White House: 18,000
- Number of witnesses who developed medical problems at critical points in Clinton scandals investigation (Tucker, Hale, both McDougals, Lindsey): 5
- Problem areas listed in a memo by Clinton''s own lawyer in preparation for the president''s defense: 40
- Number of witnesses and critics of Clinton subjected to IRS audit: 45
- Number of names placed in a White House secret database without the knowledge of those named: c. 200,000
- Number of women involved with Clinton who claim to have been physically threatened (Sally Perdue, Gennifer Flowers, Kathleen Willey, Linda Tripp, Elizabeth Ward Gracen, Juantia Broaddrick): 6
- Number of men involved in the Clinton scandals who have been beaten up or claimed to have been intimidated: 10

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 8:

THE MEDIA

- Number of journalists covering Whitewater who have been fired, transferred off the beat, resigned or otherwise gotten into trouble because of their work on the scandals (Doug Frantz, Jim Wooten, Richard Behar, Christopher Ruddy, Michael Isikoff, David Eisenstadt, Yinh Chan, Jonathan Broder, James R. Norman, Zoh Hieronimus): 10

FRIENDS OF BILL

- Number of times John Huang took the 5th Amendment in answer to questions during a Judicial Watch deposition: 1,000
- Visits made to the White House by investigation subjects Johnny Chung, James Riady, John Huang, and Charlie Trie. 160
- Number of campaign contributors who got overnights at the White House in the two years before the 1996 election: 577
- Number of members of Thomas Boggs''s law firm who have held top positions in the Clinton administration. 18
- Number of times John Huang was briefed by CIA: 37
- Number of calls Huang made from Commerce Department to Lippo banks: 261
- Number of intelligence reports Huang read while at Commerce Department: 500

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 7:

ARKANSAS MONEY MANAGEMENT

- Amount of an alleged electronic transfer from the Arkansas Development Financial Authority to a bank in the Cayman Islands during 1980s: $50 million
- Grand Cayman''s population: 18,000
- Number of commercial banks: 570
- Number of bank regulators: 1
- Amount Arkansas state pension fund invested in high-risk repos in the mid-80s in one purchase in April 1985: $52 million through the Worthen Bank.
- Number of days thereafter that the state''s brokerage firm went belly up: 3
- Amount Arkansas pension fund dropped overnight as a result: 15%
- Percent of Worthen bank that Mochtar Riady bought over the next four months to bail out the bank and the then governor, Bill Clinton: 40%.
- Percent of purchasers from the Clintons and McDougals of resort lots who lost the land because of the sleazy financing provisions: over 50%

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 6:

ARKANSAS SUDDEN DEATH SYNDROME

- Number of persons in the Clinton machine orbit who are alleged to have committed suicide: 9
- Number known to have been murdered: 12
- Number who died in plane crashes: 6
- Number who died in single car automobile accidents: 3
- Number of one-person sking fatalities: 1
- Number of key witnesses who have died of heart attacks while in federal custody under questionable circumstances: 1
- Number of unexplained deaths: 4
- Total suspicious deaths: 46
- Number of northern Mafia killings during peak years of 1968-78: 30
- Number of Dixie Mafia killings during same period: 156

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 5b:

I don''t really remember - 1
I would have no way of remembering that - 1
That''s what I believe happened - 1
To my knowledge, no - 1
To the best of my knowledge - 1
To the best of my memory - 1
I honestly don''t recall - 1
I honestly don''t remember - 1
That''s all I know - 1
I don''t have an independent recollection of that - 1
I don''t actually have an independent memory of that - 1
As far as I know - 1
I don''t believe I ever did that - 1
That''s all I know about that - 1
I''m just not sure - 1
Nothing that I remember - 1
I simply don''t know - 1
I would have no idea - 1
I don''t know anything about that - 1
I don''t have any direct knowledge of that - 1
I just don''t know - 1
I really don''t know - 1
I can''t deny that, I just -- I have no memory of that at all - 1

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 5a:

FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES: In the portions of President Clinton''s Jan. 17 deposition that have been made public in the Paula Jones case, his memory failed him 267 times. This is a list of his answers and how many times he gave each one.

I don''t remember - 71
I don''t know - 62
I''m not sure - 17
I have no idea - 10
I don''t believe so - 9
I don''t recall - 8
I don''t think so - 8
I don''t have any specific recollection - 6
I have no recollection - 4
Not to my knowledge - 4
I just don''t remember - 4
I don''t believe - 4
I have no specific recollection - 3
I might have - 3
I don''t have any recollection of that - 2 I don''t have a specific memory - 2
I don''t have any memory of that - 2
I just can''t say - 2
I have no direct knowledge of that - 2
I don''t have any idea - 2
Not that I recall - 2
I don''t believe I did - 2
I can''t remember - 2
I can''t say - 2
I do not remember doing so - 2
Not that I remember - 2
I''m not aware - 1
I honestly don''t know - 1
I don''t believe that I did - 1
I''m fairly sure - 1
I have no other recollection - 1
I''m not positive - 1
I certainly don''t think so - 1

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 5:

ARKANSAS ALTZHEIMER''S

Number of times that Clinton figures who testified in court or before Congress said that they didn''t remember, didn''t know, or something similar.

Bill Kennedy 116
Harold Ickes 148
Ricki Seidman 160
Bruce Lindsey 161
Bill Burton 191
Mark Gearan 221
Mack McLarty 233
Neil Egglseston 250
Hillary Clinton 250
John Podesta 264
Jennifer O''Connor 343
Dwight Holton 348
Patsy Thomasson 420
Jeff Eller 697

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 4b:

the firing of the RTC and FBI director when these agencies were investigating Clinton and his associates, failure to conduct autopsies in suspicious deaths, providing jobs in return for silence by witnesses, drug abuse, improper acquisition and use of 900 FBI files, improper futures trading, murder, sexual abuse of employees, false testimony before a federal judge, shredding of documents, withholding and concealment of subpoenaed documents, fabricated charges against (and improper firing of) White House employees, inviting drug traffickers, foreign agents and participants in organized crime to the White House.

[sbb2211]

The Clinton Legacy - Part 4a:

OTHER MATTERS INVESTIGATED BY SPECIAL PROSECUTORS AND CONGRESS, OR REPORTED IN THE MEDIA

Bank and mail fraud, violations of campaign finance laws, illegal foreign campaign funding, improper exports of sensitive technology, physical violence and threats of violence, solicitation of perjury, intimidation of witnesses, bribery of witnesses, attempted intimidation of prosecutors, perjury before congressional committees, lying in statements to federal investigators and regulatory officials, flight of witnesses, obstruction of justice, bribery of cabinet members, real estate fraud, tax fraud, drug trafficking, failure to investigate drug trafficking, bribery of state officials, use of state police for personal purposes, exchange of promotions or benefits for sexual favors, using state police to provide false court testimony, laundering of drug money through a state agency, false reports by medical examiners and others investigating suspicious deaths, the firing of the RTC and FBI director when these agencies were investigating Clinton and his associates, failure to conduct autopsies in suspicious deaths,