Bill Clinton is probably the most talented strategist in the Democratic party. He has won two elections for president, something no Democrat since FDR has done. However, he is not perfect. In his time in office, he showed the capacity to make monumental errors. Supporting Lieberman is one of them. Follow me on a trip down memory lane...
Now I think Bill Clinton was a very good president, but he was far from perfect, contrary to how the DLC and many in Washington view him now. One of the constants of Bill Clinton's career was that he would make gigantic mistakes. However, Clinton was so talented that he could somehow overcome these mistakes and emerge as more popular than he was before. But other Democrats did not have the talent of Clinton, so when he made these monumental mistakes, they could not manage to survive themselves. In fact, his mistakes made the way for a Republican Congress and for the Bush presidency. Most of Clinton's career can be divided into two categories: the screwup and the comeback.
1992 presidential campaign:
The Screwup: Now think back to how you first heard of Bill Clinton. For most Americans, their first exposure to Clinton was in the unflattering light of the Gennifer Flowers tapes or his alleged draft dodging. He earned a reputation as a manipulator with his evasive answers to questions ("I did not inhale," etc.) Conventional wisdom says that if you come into people's lives in that manner, you're sunk politically. By any objective analysis, Clinton horribly botched his entrance onto the national stage.
The Comeback:
Clinton was considered politically dead by practically all political observers. His numbers in New Hampshire were tanking. Nobody trusted him. Yet Clinton refused to give up and managed to finish a strong second in the primary. He called himself "The Comeback Kid," and spun the outcome so that he, not Paul Tsongas (the actual winner) was the victor. From there, Clinton never looked back. But even as he won the nomination, the reputation he developed led most political observers to conclude that he could not win the general election. But discontent over Bush and a well executed Democratic convention gave Clinton a lead in the polls that he never relinquished. Bush wanted the election to be about Clinton, but Clinton successfully framed it as a referendum on the incumbent (something John Kerry would fail to do) and he won.
Clinton's first term:
The Screwup: Bill Clinton entered into office with a Democratic Congress and seemingly limitless possibilities. He got a lot done in his first year (the budget which put the nation on the road to recovery, Family and Medical Leave Act, etc.) but it was very rough. Then he took on health care. He failed to anticipate the strength of Republican opposition, reluctance in his own party, and the strength of the HMOs' opposition. Clinton might have been able to salvage a deal, but his insistence on 100% or nothing ended up sinking it. People had expected Clinton to end gridlock in Washington and his failure to do so, combined with almost 40 years of Democratic control in Congress led to the Democrats' stunning defeat in the midterm elections. After the elections, Clinton appeared to be headed toward irrelevance and defeat in his re-election bid. Yet again, Washington wrote him off. This is the first example of Clinton's problems sinking other Democrats: while Clinton was able to come back and win re-election, the Democrats couldn't get the Congress back in '96. Democrats have not controlled the House ever since and only controlled the Senate for a short time after Jeffords' switch.
The Comeback: But the Republican Congress overreached and ended up alienating the public by trying to cut popular programs and shutting down the government. Clinton was turned into the defender of the public interest, which combined with a good economy made him the overwhelming favorite in 1996. Bob Dole was a pitifully weak candidate and he lost in a landslide. However, Congress remained under Republican control and would for the rest of Clinton's presidency. Clinton still could do a lot of good but he could never institute the revolutionary changes he wanted when he entered office as long as he had a Republican Congress.
Clinton's Second Term
The Screwup: After a turbulent first term, Clinton finally seemed to have found his groove, until the Lewinsky story broke. Clinton knew how much trouble his enemies had caused him over a fictional sexual harrasment lawsuit and a land deal where he lost money, yet he went ahead and had an affair anyway. In Washington, talk filled the air about "resignation" and the like.
The Comeback:
Clinton held firm and continued to do his job. Republicans decided to do nothing in Congress and hope campaigning against Clinton could help them win the midterms. Most people considered the affair to be a private matter for the Clinton family, so the Republicans again lost at the polls. It was Newt, not Bill, who ended up resigning. So in revenge, they impeached Clinton and we were subjected to a partisan charade of a trial which we all knew would end in Clinton's acquittal. And miraculously, Clinton's approval rating after his Senate trial was higher than it was going in.
However, Clinton's personal ratings fell to very low levels. A Clinton fatigue emerged: people were tired of investigations and scandals, even though they were basically Republican inventions. But the economy was still going strong. Had Clinton been up for a third term, he could have easily won. But it was Al Gore running this time. Gore did not have the talent Clinton possessed, so he became a victim of the Lewinsky affair. Before that, there was no rationale for a George W. Bush candidacy. The economy was strong, the world was relatively peaceful, so why would anyone want to change off the Clinton course in 2000? But after Lewinsky, Bush could run on his "honor and dignity" and "put the grownups back in charge" BS. He even made education the centerpiece of his campaign and basically promised to do the same as Clinton, but he'd be more mature and he'd give a tax cut. Gore was spooked into running away from Clinton and trying to run almost as a challenger than an incumbent.
The dynamic is pretty clear: Clinton is extremely intelligent and talented, yet he is (like all of us) capable of making mistakes, including extremely large mistakes. Since Bush took office, we have idolized the Clinton era and started to forget that Clinton was and is still capable of making mistakes. We do a disservice to ourselves and to Clinton to pretend otherwise.
On Joe Lieberman:
So to put it simply, Bill Clinton's support of Joe Lieberman is a mistake. This is all about Hillary 2008. Bill and Hillary probably feel she needs help with "moderates" and think that if Lieberman endorses her (which is bound to do if he survives, as a thank you) it will help. But what they do not realize is that Lieberman's position is not moderate, but is quite extreme. Furthermore, they do not recognize that the Internet is the revolutionizing the political system in the same way television did 50 years ago and that they ought to become part of the revolution instead of fighting it. Lieberman, his politics, and his style of campaigning are the past. Lamont's are the future. And Clinton's contention that "it's wrong" to challenge another Democrat is just plain silly. We're a democracy and one of the greatest things about that is that no matter how long you've been in Washington, you have to come before the people again and EARN the right to represent them.
In his memoirs, Bill Clinton said that he thought it was good for politicians to be knocked down every once in a while so that they wouldn't get too full of themselves. Clinton admitted he was out of touch with his constituents in his first term as governor and when he lost the 1980 governor's race, it became clear to him. His loss taught him a valuable lesson: listen to your constituents. Like Lieberman, he did something very unpopular with voters in his state (raising car taxes) and he seemed indifferent to their concerns. Joe Lieberman has ignored the concerns of voters in his state for far longer and has acted insulted and outraged that they would dare question his decisions. So he should not be surprised when the voters of Connecticut decide he does not speak for them anymore and send him into early retirement. The lesson Lieberman failed to learn and that Clinton has suddenly forgotten is that as a public servant you serve the public, the public does not serve you.