66 percent of Americans now approve of the way Bill Clinton ran his presidency

[NNN0LHI]

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/10/04/clintonmania.html

The Bill Factor



Is the nation experiencing nostalgia for Bill Clinton? (AP).


The great thing about being a former president is the public likes you as much if not more than it did while you were in office. The ebbs and flows of history generally tend to be kind to former presidents, reevaluating their tenures more favorably than they might have appeared at the time. That's why, for instance, some 60 percent of Americans surveyed by Gallup last year said they approved of the way Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford did their job, even though both were unceremoniously dumped by voters in their day.

Bill Clinton continues to defy gravity, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. The survey found that 66 percent of Americans now approve of the way he ran his presidency, up from 55 percent in 2003 and an average of 60 percent in polls in his last year in office. As The Trail's Dan Balz and Jon Cohen write in this morning's Post, that is certainly a plus for his wife's campaign to win back the White House. Many voters even overtly want an extension, in effect, of the Clinton presidency.

But the former president's potential baggage for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has yet to be directly tested in today's campaign arena. At the moment, he benefits by comparison to President Bush, who is as unpopular as his predecessor is popular. Nostalgia for the peace and prosperity of the 1990s and the memory of a seemingly more competent, less ideological leadership contributes to Clinton's strength. Yet none of the candidates running against Hillary Clinton has really tried to remind voters of the less salutary aspects of the Clinton White House years. The few times they have gingerly tiptoed into a discussion of the unsavory elements of the Clinton years, they immediately retreated.

Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) told an audience that it was time to move past "a corrupt and corroded system" and said "the Lincoln Bedroom is not for rent." Michelle Obama, speaking for her husband, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), said the next president should be someone who "respects family," adding that "if you can't run your own house, you can't run the White House." Sen. Joe Biden (Del.) during a debate asserted that Hillary Clinton could not be effective because of all "the old stuff," but then quickly added that he was referring to "policy, policy."

[Traps]

1. Yes but how many feel the same about Bob Mugabe

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/traps/2007/10/04/the-bobby-bounce/

[Bluestar]

4. I miss him too and I long for the days of peace and prosperity he ushered in

Unfortunately at least some of the remaining 44% who DON'T admire his presidency are right here on DU. I get tired of all the internal Dem bashing that goes on, even for a president who is no longer in office.

Of course there are some issues that he supported when he was president that we don't agree with. But it seems for some here it must be "all or nothing" or that person isn't a true Democrat.

[lovuian]

2. Bill left this country with a surplus and people had money

in their pocket

I gotta say Hillary's biggest asset is Bill

Incredible speaker

[monmouth]

3. That is one stunning picture of him....I miss him.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. He at least liked us. Can't say the same about george.

:-(