Elder Statesmen to Hatchet Man

Maureen Dowd pretty ably describes the transformation of Bill Clinton from elder statesman ex-president to petty, partisan hatchet man for his wife:

If Bill Clinton has to trash his legacy to protect his legacy, so be it. If he has to put a dagger through the heart of hope to give Hillary hope, so be it.

If he has to preside in this state as the former first black president stopping the would-be first black president, so be it.

The Clintons — or “the 2-headed monster,” as the The New York Post dubbed the tag team that clawed out wins in New Hampshire and Nevada — always go where they need to go, no matter the collateral damage. Even if the damage is to themselves and their party.

Bill’s transition from elder statesman, leader of his party and bipartisan ambassador to ward heeler and hatchet man has been seamless — and seamy.

After Bill’s success trolling the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, Hillary handed off South Carolina and flew to California and other Super Tuesday states. The Big Dog relished playing the candidate again, wearing a Technicolor orange tie and sweeping across the state with the mute Chelsea.

He tried to convey the impression that they were running against The Man, and with classic Clintonian self-pity, grumbled that Barack Obama had all the advantages.

When he was asked yesterday if he would feel bad standing in the way of the first black president, he said no. “I’m not standing in his way,” he said. “I think Hillary would be a better president” who’s “ready to do the job on the first day.” He added: “No one has a right to be president, including Hillary. Keep in mind, in the last two primaries, we ran as an underdog.” He rewrote the facts, saying that “no one thought she could win” in New Hampshire, even though she originally had had a substantial lead.

He said of Obama: “I hope I get a chance to vote for him some day.” And that day, of course, would be after Hillary’s eight years; it’s her turn now because Bill owes her. “I think it would be just as much a change, and some people think more, to have the first woman president as to have the first African-American president,” he said.

Let's look at a few realities and one prediction about Hillary Clinton:

• Hillary Clinton could never have gotten to where she is in life without first hooking herself onto Bill. She saw a guy who looked like he was going somewhere and she grabbed on for ride.
• Hillary Clinton had no meaningful connection to New York State until she moved there just to run for the seat of a retiring Senator. Had that seat not been coming open in a very blue state, she would have looked for another blue state with a retiring Senator and would have moved there.
• Her purpose in becoming a Senator was to set up a White House run. Period.
• Hillary and Bill have had a deal since 1992. If she played the loyal wife and "stood by her man" throughout all his bimbo eruptions during the campaign and his presidency, she would be rewarded with a White House term of her own. Bill is willing to trash his own legacy to keep that deal. Getting back in the White House and having another shot at those young interns is more important than personal integrity.
• The Clintons will say or do anything to win. It doesn't matter who or what gets destroyed on the way. Winning is the only thing that counts.
• Finally, the prediction. If Hillary loses the nomination or the general election, she and Bill will start divorce proceedings within a year. Should she win, the divorce will be put off until one year after she leaves office. Their's is a marriage of political convenience, and once there is no longer a political benefit to the marriage, it will end.

Just watch.