Does Bill Clinton Have a Subconscious Need to Ruin Hillary's Campaign?

I'm beginning to think so. His statement regarding the Iraq war (he "opposed it from the start") is blowing up around him and the campaign as example after example is brought out by blogs and talk radio of Clinton saying just the opposite. From Time Magazine in 2004:

That's why I supported the Iraq thing. There was a lot of stuff unaccounted for. So I thought the President had an absolute responsibility to go to the U.N. and say, "Look, guys, after 9/11, you have got to demand that Saddam Hussein lets us finish the inspection process." You couldn't responsibly ignore [the possibility that] a tyrant had these stocks. I never really thought he'd [use them]. What I was far more worried about was that he'd sell this stuff or give it away. Same thing I've always been worried about North Korea's nuclear and missile capacity. I don't expect North Korea to bomb South Korea, because they know it would be the end of their country. But if you can't feed yourself, the temptation to sell this stuff is overwhelming. So that's why I thought Bush did the right thing to go back. When you're the President, and your country has just been through what we had, you want everything to be accounted for.

And Ron Fournier writes about "Good Bill/Bad Bill" and what he's doing on the campaign trail:

DES MOINES, Iowa - As only he can do, Bill Clinton packed campaign venues across eastern Iowa and awed Democratic voters with a compelling case for his wife's candidacy. He was unscripted, in-depth and generous.

He also was long-winded, misleading and self-absorbed.

"Good Bill" and "Bad Bill" (his nickname among some aides) returned to the public arena Tuesday as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton brandished her double-edged sword of a husband to fend off rivals in the Jan. 3 caucus fight.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Clinton told 400 Iowans at the start of his three-city swing, "I have had a great couple of days out working for Hillary."

In the next 10 minutes, he used the word "I" a total of 94 times and mentioned "Hillary" just seven times in an address that was as much about his legacy as it was about his wife's candidacy.

He told the crowd where he bought coffee that morning and where he ate breakfast.

He detailed his Thanksgiving Day guest list, and menu.

He defended his record as president, rewriting history along the way.

And he explained why his endorsement of a certain senator from New York should matter to people.

"I know what it takes to be president," he said, "and because of the life I've led since I've left office."

I, me and my. Oh, my.

Late in his 50-minute address, Clinton told the crowd that wealthy people like he and his wife should pay more taxes in times of war. "Even though I approved of Afghanistan and opposed Iraq from the beginning, I still resent that I was not asked or given the opportunity to support those soldiers," he said.

In truth, Clinton did not oppose the Iraq war from the start — at least not publicly.
If the former president secretly opposed the war but did not want to speak against a sitting president (as some of his aides now claim), what moral authority does he have now? And did he share his objections with his wife? She started out as a hawkish Democrat but is now appealing to anti-war voters.

There's more here. Some are beginning to wonder if Billy has a deep psychological need to sabotage his wife's campaign. Does he really want her to be president, or does he risk problems in having his undistinguished eight years in office look bad compared to hers (she would be coming in as a war president - something he never was).

The problem with the ever-shifting statements from both Bill and Hill is that it reminds voters of the things they liked least about the Clintons the last time they were in the White House. Neither can tell you what they really believe...until the poll and focus group results come in. Voters don't respect someone who panders, they're both experts at it.

While he might draw large crowds of the faithful at Hillary rallies, I have to think there are many thousands more who are being turned off by the memories of "it matters what the meaning of 'is' is" and other Clinton gems.