Obama-Clinton Soap Opera Continues

Politico: A Somewhat Schizoid Relationship Remains Between The Two Families

(The Politico)  This story was written by Amie Parnes and Glenn Thrush.

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Michelle Obama wasn’t always an admirer of Hillary Clinton, but last Wednesday the soon-to-be first lady dialed up the former first lady for pointers on protecting her two young daughters from the media maelstrom of the White House.

"Michelle may not have loved the senator, but she always respected how the Clintons raised Chelsea," said a person familiar with Clinton’s end of the call. "They need to talk. There just aren’t too many people who have shared that kind of experience."

An aide briefed on Obama’s side of the chat said she was "grateful" for Clinton’s "pointers" on "raising children in the public eye."

It’s the latest phase in the ruling-class soap opera that is the Obama-Clinton alliance, where the two first families negotiate new personal relationships as Hillary Clinton wrestles with her own ambivalence about Michelle Obama’s husband, a man she once ridiculed as too callow to govern, and then worked tirelessly to elect.

These tensions have created a somewhat schizoid relationship between Clinton and the Obamas - warm on personal matters, warier on political ones, and downright frosty on the still-unresolved issue of Clinton’s mountainous campaign debt, which Barack Obama had pledged to help reduce.

"Senator Clinton did not just check the box for Obama - she went all out for him, which says an awful lot about how important she felt this election was, what kind of character she has, and the positive state of their relationship," said Chris Lehane, an aide to both John Kerry and Al Gore during their presidential bids.

Since the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton headlined about three dozen rallies and fundraisers - working rope-lines where well-wishers often lamented her exit from the race.

Bill Clinton, who once called Obama’s Iraq policy "a fairy tale," hosted about 20 events for Obama after the Illinois senator paid homage to him with a mid-September visit to his Harlem office.

Obama responded by lavishing praise on the pair - after months of questioning the legacy of the Clinton White House. More importantly, he embraced much of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s domestic agenda, especially her health care and green jobs proposals.

Yet a half-dozen Clinton insiders told Politico they are disappointed that Obama’s vaunted fundraising operation hasn’t reciprocated by planning new events or an Internet campaign to help Clinton pay off the $7.9 million she owes to vendors. (Clinton has already written off the $13 million she loaned the campaign during the primaries, aides say).

“I don’t think there’s a whole lot of hard feelings, it’s more like mild annoyance,” said a former Clinton aide on condition of anonymity. “There’s just not a lot of expectation they are going to lift a finger for us.”

Added another longtime Clinton adviser: "She killed herself for them, did a hundred events, went anywhere they pointed - so it’s disappointing they aren’t helping… But it’s not a big deal at this point."

One former Clinton fundraiser took a more cold-blooded view. "In a few months, when he’s really struggling, he’ll come to her for support," he said. "That’s when she should ask him for money."

An Obama spokesman didn’t comment but didn’t rule out a debt retirement effort down the road.

Clinton is expecting a warmer reception from Obama on legislative issues.

People close to the New York senator say she is still struggling to define her role in the Senate following a jarring and unexpected loss. But she’s sure of one thing: she desperately wants to play a major role in crafting the health care reform Obama has pledged to introduce.

Still, she is unlikely to make immediate demands of Obama and is committed to giving the president-elect a wide berth on how and when he introduces reforms, given the economic crisis. And she’s reportedly leery of getting between Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), the ailing chairman of the health committee and budget committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus, who are both staking claims on the plan.

The Obama-Clinton relationship is less fraught on the personal front, where Clinton seems surprisingly eager to mentor Michelle Obama.

The incoming First Lady, who had been privately critical of Clinton during the primaries, first reached out to the former First Lady six weeks ago for advice on how to provide some semblance of normality for her young daughters Sasha and Malia.

"They talked for 30 minutes the first time," said a Clinton insider. "It wasn’t just for show - it was a real conversation."

Last week, on election night, it was Hillary Clinton making the call, congratulating Barack Obama on his victory and consoling him after the death of his grandmother, according to a Clinton spokesman.

It won’t be their last conversation. During that chat, the president-elect vowed to schedule a sit-down meeting with the Clintons in the not-too-distant future, sources say.

[antoniof123]

Welcome to politics!

So what did anyone expect.....

[aldon61]

The Obama-Clinton relationship is less fraught on the personal front, where Clinton seems surprisingly eager to mentor Michelle Obama.

These two families need to come together. The Clinton''s have a wealth of knowledge and experience that can make the Obama''s transition into the whitehouse a whole lot easier.

[renonv5]

This story sounds to me as if the media is he!!-bent on keeping juicy gossip alive and well. If that is their intention, this story completely misses the mark. Must have been a slow news day which is impossible to believe considering all the drama going on out there.

[toodarkmark]

This article is such a reach. It''s called politics. They all understand that this is not personal, it is a game. The Celtics and Lakers hate each other on the court, and resent one winning over the other, but they still can get together and support each other if they are a part of something larger.

I dont get anything from this article that hasn''t happened all through history. Lyndon Johnson HATED John Kennedy for beating him, and still became his VP. And after John died Lyndon did everything in his power to follow out John''s policies. Really. This is much ado about nothing.

[rational_1]

The Clinton''''s have a wealth of knowledge and experience that can make the Obama''''s transition into the whitehouse a whole lot easier.
Posted by aldon61 at 10:43 AM : Nov 11, 2008

Right - Bubba knows all the places in the White house where you can hide from the wife for a quickie with an intern. Valuable knowledge indeed!

[suziinside]

why is the obama family asking pointers from the clinton family when mr clinton is the one person who could have made a decision and this WAR would have never happened. and yet mr bush is blamed for mr clinton short comings. i guess everyone views bush as a bad president tell me whwt would you have done. cuz clinton did nothing like i said clinton is at fault for the war he was asked by cia and fbi to remove a threat against America, osama. he didnt. very sad that we but the blame where blame isnt due

[dburfears]

The political writers are sure suffering from the campaign ending. Clearly it''s hard to find something to write about.

[likeitis5050]

Obama responded by lavishing praise on the pair - after months of questioning the legacy of the Clinton White House.


And yet so far he''s demonstrated his intention to fully resurrect the Clinton Administration...minus the Clinons, of course. So original, considering he bashed her repeatedly over that Administration and dangerous considering it leaves the door open for revisited disclosure of Clinton''s incompetence in dealing with the initial threat of terrorist attack...that got dumped into Bush''s lap, conveniently, by the Democrats. Not unlike the way they laid their involvement in the Wall Street Give Away and Melt Down at Bush''s feet. Those stinkers....always joking around. One day they won''t be able to throw their dirt in someone else''s yard and then call code enforcement on that dirty yard.

[drputt45]

With Obama considering opening up Cuba, he''ll have access to a better brand of cigars than Billy boy had.

[nubeginning]

Obama will be just fine. Eight years of plenty are coming our way. How do I know? Obama said so and he will be surrounded by America''s brightest minds. The intellectuals, those folks who actually have time on their hands to think, always side with the little guy. A couple of those Jewish intellectuals, Marx and Engels, always had the workers in mind when the drafted the Communist Manifesto and in the co-writing of Das Kapital. Please don''t try to write and tell me those policies failed during the last century... They did not have the star-studded group of minds we will have behind our try at it.

[erasmus81]

"Michelle Obama wasn%u2019t always an admirer of Hillary Clinton, but last Wednesday the soon-to-be first lady dialed up the former first lady for pointers on protecting her two young daughters from the media maelstrom of the White House."

Good Luck on that one.

It''s in people''s nature to try to destroy what they''ve built up.

[jamshied]

I HAVE FELT THAT THERE STIL IS SOME SOUR FEELINGS BETWEEN OBAMAS AN CLINTONS, LEFT OVER FROM THE PRIMARIES.

BILL CLINTON HAVE MADE A FEW REMARKS THAT HAS NOT BEEN POSITIVE; ONE WAS WHEN BILL CLINTON SAID THAT JOHN MACCAIN IS A GREAT MAN. WHEN ASKED IF HE THINKS THAT BARACK OBAMA IS ALSO A GREAT MAN, HE REPLIED , "NOT YET.. HE HAS NOT EARNED IT YET'' (NOT EXACT QUOTE)
THERE HAS BEEN A FEW OTHER SUBTLE REMARKS HE HAS MADE, WHICH I FELT HE DID NOT REALLY WANT OBAMA TO WIN(DEEP DOWN IN HIS MIND AND HEART).
I AM SORRY TO SAY THAT MY VIEW ABOUT BILL CLINTON HAS CHANGED EVERSINCE HEARING THOSE REMARKS.

[louiville2]

You know that dress makes her look like a blackwidow spider. They (MSM) should stop running it.

[spinproof]

I admire Hillary Clinton too. Baby Boomers are looking to pass the baton to a generation of Americans they can trust so they can retire in peace without worrying too much, the Obama''s are worthy. Boomers have another good run in them but its time to start looking for replacements, father time demands it.

[horse3farm]

WHEN BILL CLINTON SAID THAT JOHN MACCAIN IS A GREAT MAN. WHEN ASKED IF HE THINKS THAT BARACK OBAMA IS ALSO A GREAT MAN, HE REPLIED , "NOT YET.. HE HAS NOT EARNED IT YET'''' (NOT EXACT QUOTE)
THERE HAS BEEN A FEW OTHER SUBTLE REMARKS HE HAS MADE, WHICH I FELT HE DID NOT REALLY WANT OBAMA TO WIN(DEEP DOWN IN HIS MIND AND HEART).
I AM SORRY TO SAY THAT MY VIEW ABOUT BILL CLINTON HAS CHANGED EVERSINCE HEARING THOSE REMARKS.

Posted by jamshied
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Bill Clinton was absolutely right. Obama has not earned the title of "a great man." He is just a politician at this point, and only time will tell if he was indeed, a great man.

[violets4me]

I wouldn''t ask for either of the Clinton''s advice. When Billy Boy did what he was doing with Monica...Hillary as much as condoned it by staying with the creep!!! I never trusted either of them after that or the White Water ***!!!

[beader59]

Michelle needs to get off her high horse. The Clintons did a freat job in helping America be a strong and unified nation. Hillary has been a great Senator and has been gracious in her loss of the bid to be President. At least she didn''t say she didin''t like America. I personally think Michelle is a snob and needs to be brought down a peg or two.

[aj4321-2009]

All is fair in love, war and "politics". It''s in the best interest of the Clintons to work with Obama administration.

[aj4321-2009]

His ratings now are not as high as they should be. They stand at 57% and Bush had 61% just days after being elected in 2000.

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Where did you get the 57% number? I just read the gallup - Obama has a 68% approval rating. Stop making up numbers.

[libra217]

mr clinton is the one person who could have made a decision and this WAR would have never happened. and yet mr bush is blamed for mr clinton short comings.

Posted by suziinside at 11:39 AM : Nov 11, 2008

You''ve got to be kidding!