www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=4934&R=A0A4...
Eric Pfeiffer
NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT, but Bill Clinton might be this year's biggest loser. With the opening of his presidential library in Little Rock, Arkansas last week, media attention was focused heavily on the Clinton legacy and what his future role will be in shaping the Democratic party. Practically everyone in Washington has heard the numbers: A $165 million dollar facility, 80 million pages of documents and 14 seperate wings dedicated to Clinton's eight years as chief occupant of the White House. However, the number no one is talking about when it comes to the Clinton legacy is zero.
Prior to Clinton's quadruple-bypass heart surgery in September, Democrats salivated at the thought of their two-term former president hitting the campaign trail for John Kerry. Unlike Al Gore, Kerry was not making what most Democrats perceived as a tactical mistake running from Clinton's record. In fact kerry was doing just the opposite, literaly promising a nostalgic return to booming markets, sans sexual scandals. And when Clinton returned to the trail in the campaign's closing weeks, Democrats along with the media slipped into something resembling a feeding frenzy. Not only would he have time to campaign for kerry, along with several key Senate and House races, people at long last, would feel sorry for him. One of Kerry's key weaknesses, a lack of voter empathy, would be quenched courtesy of the Comeback Kid.
Instead the results proved far different. Every candidate Clinton endorsed, raised money for, or conducted a campaign appearance on behalf of, lost. Toss up Senate races in which Clinton appeared al went against the Democrats: Betty Castor in Florida, Chris John in Louisiana, James Hoeffel in Pennsylvania and outgoing Senate mijnority leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota. In swing states where Clinton put in appearances, such as Arizona and his home state of Arkansas, Kerry also lost......................
Eric Pfeiffer
NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT, but Bill Clinton might be this year's biggest loser. With the opening of his presidential library in Little Rock, Arkansas last week, media attention was focused heavily on the Clinton legacy and what his future role will be in shaping the Democratic party. Practically everyone in Washington has heard the numbers: A $165 million dollar facility, 80 million pages of documents and 14 seperate wings dedicated to Clinton's eight years as chief occupant of the White House. However, the number no one is talking about when it comes to the Clinton legacy is zero.
Prior to Clinton's quadruple-bypass heart surgery in September, Democrats salivated at the thought of their two-term former president hitting the campaign trail for John Kerry. Unlike Al Gore, Kerry was not making what most Democrats perceived as a tactical mistake running from Clinton's record. In fact kerry was doing just the opposite, literaly promising a nostalgic return to booming markets, sans sexual scandals. And when Clinton returned to the trail in the campaign's closing weeks, Democrats along with the media slipped into something resembling a feeding frenzy. Not only would he have time to campaign for kerry, along with several key Senate and House races, people at long last, would feel sorry for him. One of Kerry's key weaknesses, a lack of voter empathy, would be quenched courtesy of the Comeback Kid.
Instead the results proved far different. Every candidate Clinton endorsed, raised money for, or conducted a campaign appearance on behalf of, lost. Toss up Senate races in which Clinton appeared al went against the Democrats: Betty Castor in Florida, Chris John in Louisiana, James Hoeffel in Pennsylvania and outgoing Senate mijnority leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota. In swing states where Clinton put in appearances, such as Arizona and his home state of Arkansas, Kerry also lost......................
