Ouch! - NYT's: Bill Bombs In New Hampshire

Political pundits have been debating whether or not the Clinton Era in Democrat politics is over and the Obama Era has begun ... or will Hillary and Bill end up being the comeback twin Presidents?

If this is any measure the jury is no longer out:

He entered to polite applause and rows of empty seats at the University of New Hampshire on Friday. Several people filed out midspeech, and the room was largely quiet as he spoke, with few interruptions for laughter or applause. He talked about his administration, his foundation work and some about his wife.

...  there was a similarly listless aura at the previous stop, in Rochester. And again, on Saturday in Bow, at just the sort of high school gym that the master campaigner used to blow out. Only about 225 showed up in Bow — about one-third the capacity of the room — to hear Mr. Clinton hit his bullet points on the subprime lending crisis, $100 barrels of oil and how “10 of Hillary’s fellow senators have endorsed her.”

“The crowd seemed very passive,” Arthur Cunningham of Bow said after the speech. “Maybe they were tired.”

Since Mrs. Clinton’s performance in Iowa last week, one of the more intriguing narratives around her campaign has been the “Bill to the Rescue” conceit.

No matter how you slice it, this campaigning for Hillary can't be giving Bill's needy ego much of a bounce. Whether or not it helps Hillary appears to be in doubt.

Comments

[seekeronos]

The biggest favour Bill could do for Hillary would be to stay out of Hillary's way and keep quiet.

Not for nothing, the GOP would be better off with Hillary as the DNC nominee. Thee Big O simply has too much "charisma", even if he lacks in experience.

Sad thing is, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Six-Pack are that shallow that they will be slickered up one way and back down the other by charisma and pretty hair before they actually listen to what these power hungry authoritarians are really on about.

[DonnaInMichigan]

Hillary is coming off, as she is ENTITLED to the Presidency. After all, she has clawed her way to the top. She put up with Bill and his shennagin's for 35 yrs, NOT to have this all end like this. She had to stand on the side lines all through Bills political career. She pushed, prodded, and helped him get elected, not only to Attorney General of Arkansas, but through his terms of governor of Arkansas, and onto the Presidency. When she was elected Senator, of course it was by default, since both times her candidacy went virtually unchallenged, in a LIBERAL state. Not to mention the first go round, her husband was President, and sold pardons to groups for votes. We won't speak of the fact that she carpet-bagged her way into NYC, because honestly, the good people of Arkansas, wouldn't welcome these two back. It's almost like she feels this is her birth-right, to become POTUS. The problem with Hillary, is that she doesn't know how to campaign on a Nat'l level. She is not used to being challenged, within her own party. Nor will she be able to withstand any challenge at all in a National Election, PERIOD. Me thinks there is going to be a "DEAN" meltdown, that truly brings her campaign to a halt. Mark my words...she loses NH, the wrath this hateful woman, will unleash to her staff, sends shivers down my spine. She is a hateful, spiteful, vindictive, scary woman. Yes the days of the Clinton Regimen, these two have held over the DNC, is coming to an end. And it couldn't of ended in a sweeter way.... Next, I hope the good people of NYC, each of them grow a brain stem, and not re-elect this carpet bagger again in the Senate. After all she did LIE to them and state she was NOT going to run for the Presidency. I am looking forward to the day when both Clintons become irrelevant.

[Techie]

Do the people of NY ever think that, maybe, just being an opening wasn't enough for Hillary to care about them. If it had been MA, CA, IL, or FL with a Senate seat up for grabs in 2000, she'd have gone there in a heartbeat.

[seekeronos]

Don't look at me, I voted for Al D'Amato in '98 and Rick Lazio in 2000.

Any good NY GOP'er knew that Hillary was a carpetbagger-in-reverse.