Jim Manzi marvels at Hillary Clinton's "I Will Work Harder" approach to politics, while Matt Continetti takes note of the strategic thinking behind Bill Clinton's "outbursts."
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The Clinton's have the best punch and counter-punch in contemporary politics. And while there are some "Democratic Party Leaders" who are reaching for the smelling salts, it's only because they haven't seen a successful Presidential campaign since 1996, and forgot what one looks like. Democrats take note: this is how Presidential campaigns are won! As a Democrat who desperately wants a Democrat back in the White House, the Clinton's muscle-flexing gives me every confidence that the they will do what it takes to beat the GOP in the fall, something that both Gore or Kerry failed to do. 
A bit off topic, but relative to Hillary...if you are a friend of Andrew Sullivan, or know any of his friends, it might be well to advise him that he has completely "lost it" with his increasingly shrill and deranged cracks about the Senator. In his latest, he has put up a YouTube clip of Richard Nixon, preceded with the introductory words, "..her mentor." Hillary was, of course, a staffer on the Judiciary Committee that dealt with the impeachment proceedings. By his ever increasingly strange and erratic posts on Hillary, and other subjects as well, Sullivan continues to erod whatever credibility he once had as a thoughtful commentator on political and other events. Some have speculated that it's a byproduct of the regimen of meds that he must take. Irrespective, he has become an embarrassment and little more than a demented scold.
I find this post in the Corner evocative, especially the title: Hillary's Southern Strategy [Lisa Schiffren] This is no less than a recipe for schism. You can see the media narrative as it plays out under Schiffren's theory: (a) The vicious acrimony of the debate last night If Schiffren is right, the Clinton's victory may come at a terrible cost to the country--just like the Southern Strategy tore us apart a generation ago.
Schiffren's piece on Hillary's Southern Strategy is congruent with Buchanan's recent piece of the "ghettoization" of Obama by the Clintons - both are acknowledgements of the success of the Lee Atwater school of politics: divide, conquer, use anger and fear to win. Cede the black vote to capture the larger white vote.
Re the Lee Atwater tactics: Obama, defending against the Clintons' attacks, has integrated his charge that the Clintons play fast and loose with the truth into his pitch that he can be a 'transformational' president while Bill wasn't and Hillary can't be. In the SC debate, he started saying that the Clintons can't be transformational because they undermine trust by failing to tell the truth. It's not just, 'stop lying about my record,' it's those who lie can't fly. Whether this argument begins to sink in w/ voters remains to be seen.
Clinton's flareups of temper are not strategic, they are glimpses of his true self. His anger at Brit Hume did nothing for him and probably hurt him at an important juncture in his presidency.
JoeCHI writes: Democrats take note: this is how Presidential campaigns are won! As a Democrat who desperately wants a Democrat back in the White House, the Clinton's muscle-flexing gives me every confidence that the they will do what it takes to beat the GOP in the fall, something that both Gore or Kerry failed to do. That's great, Joe, just bear in mind that a lot of people, who happen to care whether or not they come across as an asshole, would rather not be Democrats for the same reason they'd rather not be Republicans either. The answer for those people is not, in fact, "See?! We're just as rootin & tootin as the Big Bad GOP! Vote for us!"
In other woids, if I grant your point that it takes a tough SOB to win, you should grant my point that such a victory might be considered Pyhrric, i.e. long-term harmful to the country. It makes sense to vote for Clinton only if you don't think more polarization is a problem. Because if you vote for her, you're just guaranteeing increased ongoing polarization. So 1) good luck with Hillary in the general and 2) if she wins, good luck getting (and deserving) what you asked for.
Pyrrhic" that is.
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Good piece by Matt Continetti. I agree Bill's tantrums are "strategic outbursts", but I disagree with their impact - I think it helps Obama, hurts Hillary.
He's older now, more of a dotty King Lear, miserable without his crown. He calls to mind the aging Albert Finney, a bit menacing and ill-tempered even when he's funny.
And he reinforces the notion that the campaign is really a referendum on the Clinton Administration, that Hillary is a beard, running for Clinton's (unconstitutional) third term.
Obama should keep baiting him, drawing him out,
getting him mad as often as possible.
Posted by fougasseu | January 22, 2008 1:15 PM