Neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton have been on the front pages lately. I'm guessing that they are out quietly supporting the Democratic ticket in critical battleground states.
When they do surface they usually stay on a curious message. Warm feelings for McCain. Understanding for Sarah Palin.
This is a quick diary asking for help figuring out what may be going on with the Clintons
For the most part it is pretty clear to me that since the primary both the Clintons have usually on their best behavior. At the convention they did a ton more good than harm. On TV and on the campaign trail they usually say the right things, but it is striking how often Bill Clinton, especially, goes out of his way to express respect and warm feelings for McCain and how hard it seems for him to 'give it up' for an Obama Presidency. Chris Rock called him out on it on David Letterman a week or two ago and several posts here in Kossackland have made the same point.
Since both Clintons go out of their way to express warm regard for McCain and Palin and have not been Democratic attack dogs against the McCain/Palin ticket, I have wondered - a little - what might be going on.
For a time I was convinced they were following an Obama campaign script. I thought the Obama campaign wanted to avoid the kinds of off-message moments the Clintons provided in their own campaign, so they want the Clintons to keep it low-key when it comes to McCain. The problem with this view is that Bill Clinton, especially, marries his affection for McCain with a reserve for Obama. I can't imagine that that is part of the script.
Lately I've wondered if this is 'turn about fair play' from the Clintons and they are giving Obama a taste of the medicine they think they got from him during the primaries. Remember the big flap when Obama said warm, fuzzy things about Ronald Reagan during the Nevada campaign and how often Obama said tepid things about the great economy during the Clinton years?
If this is what is going on, notice how thin-skinned the Clintons were when Obama dissed them, and how thick-skinned Obama has been about his treatment from the Clintons.
I'd love to hear what everybody else thinks might be going with the Clintons and whether its ultimately good, bad or doesn't matter for the campaign.
See the poll below.