Obama Doesn’t Measure up to his Latest Role Model, Bill Clinton

Politico’s Ben Smith posts this morning about Obama’s cautious, vague response to the current economic crisis.

Smith writes:

“The nation's economic crisis triggered Obama's sharp rise in what had been a tight race. But Obama hasn't tried to seize the kind of central, national leadership position for which Sen. John McCain grasped, and fell short. Nor has he been touting — Bill Clinton-style — a highly detailed plan for what he'll do the moment he takes office.”

Later on in his post Smith again compares Obama’s economic approach to that of Bill Clinton:

“Still, Obama's response had some veterans of the last administration noting the contrast with former President Clinton, whose politics were always rooted in richly detailed policy plans.”

Nevertheless, Scott Helman at the Boston Globe points out:

“ABINGTON, Pa. - Barack Obama likes to draw inspiration from Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., but his apparent role model of late is someone a bit more contemporary: Bill Clinton.

“With the economy in crisis and Election Day in sight, Obama can't say enough about the Clinton epoch - the job growth, the budget surpluses, the broad prosperity - and often lauds the former president's economic stewardship as a model.

‘“We need to do what we did in the 1990s and create millions of new jobs and not lose them,’ he told 6,000 people in Abington, outside Philadelphia, last week. ‘We need to do what we did in the 1990s and make sure people's incomes are going up and not down. We need to do what a guy named Bill Clinton did in the 1990s and put people first again.’

“The crowd roared.”

Helman reminds readers:

“During the primaries, Obama at times praised the Clintons for their past work. But in the heat of the battle, hardly a week went by when he did not take swipes at the 1990s - at both the policies and the politics the Clintons promoted.

Felman cites Hillary Clinton’s rejoinder on one occasion to Obama’s frequent attacks:

‘“You know, sometimes during this campaign, my opponent criticizes the '90s, criticizes what my husband did,’ she said in Philadelphia in April, according to The Chicago Tribune. ‘But when I hear him criticizing the 1990s, I'm always wondering which part of it didn't he like - the peace or the prosperity? Because I like both.”’

Helman fails, however, to call Barack Obama and his campaign to account for their egregious attempts to label both Bill and Hillary Clinton as racists after Sen. Clinton’s win in New Hampshire. (Watch video of Jesse Jackson, Jr., national co-chair of the Obama campaign, delivering an all-out sexist and racist rant against Hillary Clinton.)

The Clintons have long been known for their devotion to human rights on behalf of all people; nevertheless, the Obama camp's racist smears served to alienate many African-American supporters from Sen. Clinton and increase their support for Obama.

When pinned down during the Las Vegas debate, Obama made clear – after most of the damage had been done – that he was well aware the Clintons were not racists.

Since the onset of the general election campaign, the Obama camp has been relentless in exploiting the support of the Clintons, even though, as Scott Helman points out, it has required yet another major shift for Obama, who, since the primary, has proved himself the most agile flip-flopper to ever hit the national stage.