UPDATE: Poll results notwithstanding, consensus of comments so far seems to be that Clinton's smackdown was part of a tidal wave that swamped GOP. My personal fave comes from
dougymi
, who says whether or not Clinton's Fox moment was a tide-turner, "it's a damn good meme" that will make the Fox talking heads explode.
And that's a good thing.
_______
Last night, historian Richard Norton Smith appeared on The NewsHour w/Jim Lehrer to discuss the implications of the Nov. 7 Dem victory.
"Historically, I think the real winner this week is Bill Clinton," said Smith, explaining that wins by so-called moderate and relatively conservative Dems on Nov 7 vindicated Clinton/New Democrat "centrism."
That's true, I guess, if "moderate" is preceded by "progressive." Media Matters reports that all victorious Dems "agree on a core set of (progressive) issues, including raising the minimum wage and protecting Social Security."
I am convinced that Bill Clinton juiced the Dem campaign on Sept. 22 when he smacked down Chris Wallace on Fox. (Replay the moment here. Transcript here.)
Dems, for a lot of reasons (Iraq, Iraq, and Iraq), had forward momentum before Clinton's appearance. But I believe the changing tied turned into a flood after Clinton stood up to the bullying right-wing noise machine. I felt exhilarated and inspired, just like I did on Nov. 8.
I'm not a "New Democrat" and I often find Bill Clinton maddening. (Ditto Hillary.) But I believe he deserves thanks and some credit for Nov. 7. What do you think?