Katharine Seelye's piece in the New York Times today looks
at the role former President Bill Clinton plays in the 2004
campaign. Clinton, who has enourmous influence over the
Democratic party base, and his wife U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, a
likely presidential candidate for 2008, have remained neutral in
the race but have consulted with several of the major candidates.
AP Photo/Diane Bondareff
Though many said they had perceived Mr. Clinton as neutral,
they were also watching to see if he put his thumb on the scales
for or against anyone..."The question is not whether he will
endorse, because he won't," a senior adviser to one
candidate said. "The question is whether he will be using
intermediaries to send signals."
General Clark said the Clintons had encouraged him to run,
but the Clintons have said they would not endorse anyone in the
primaries. General Clark said that Mr. Clinton had helped him
make the transition from the military to politics. "The
biggest thing is in terms of dealing with people who question
you," General Clark said. He said Mr. Clinton had also
advised him that "you have to have positive energy in the
campaign, you have to fight hard but you don't want to get
negative."
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, who calls himself the former
president's ideological heir, said, "He's brilliant, both on
policy and politics."...When Mr. Lieberman heard about the
Clark commercial, he sounded a bit miffed that he had been beaten
to the punch. "Has President Clinton now become public
property so that we can do it without his permission?" Mr.
Lieberman asked reporters in a conference call.
Three of the candidates, Dr. Dean, General Clark and Carol
Moseley Braun, followed in Mr. Clinton's footsteps last week,
going to South Carolina for the New Year's retreat of movers and
shakers known as the Renaissance Weekend.
Rob is
the founder and editor of the progressive news site robwire.com and is a
frequent contributor to rob.dailykos.com