Clinton's Legacy and Now

Inspired by the recent rant, I began thinking about my own feelings about Bill Clinton.

1. He was the most brilliant, compassionate, skilled Democratic President we have had since FDR. The eight years we had under him were very good ones. And for those who trash him, just think of what four more years of Daddy Shrub or Bob Dole would have wrought. We might have even had Senator Rush Limbaugh, slipped into permanent Argentina financial status, or even worse.
   
2. On the other hand, he did not do enough for grassroots Democratic organizations. He should have known better than to have had a tryst in the fish-bowl White House with someone who could not keep her mouth shut. I think those two things turned into a lead weight around Gore's ankles. I tried not to believe it, but the proof is in the results. Al campaigned cautiously until almost the very end partly due to the lack of deep bench support and having to distance himself from a situation that he found distasteful.

   I don't want to discard Clinton. He has much to say of worth. But he needs to understand just how much he has also damaged his party, and stand back a little.