Axelrod: We Want The Clintons To Campaign For Us
If Obama advisers were upset with the Clintons' conduct during the primary -- especially that of Bill Clinton -- it's not getting in the way of a larger reality: They know they'll need party unity for the general election, and are hoping to have as much help as possible from them.
Barack Obama's top strategist David Axelrod told Fox News that he expects to see Hillary Clinton hitting the trail for Obama. "We hope so," said Axelrod. "We expect so, based on what she said publicly. But this has been an unbelievably grueling process and she deserves some time to chill out."
As for Bill: "Bill Clinton was very successful, and is a very smart guy, so I think beyond the campaigning elements of it, you know he's somebody who I think Obama would want to have a relationship with. He's got a storehouse of knowledge that very few people have."
Three. Three more to go.
June 10, 2008 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
LOL, no shit. I'm sick of this.
You know, I wouldn't know by looking at the media coverage (including TPM apparently) that OBAMA was the one who won the nomination, NOT HILLARY CLINTON. Because despite the fact Obama just won a historic race after a grueling year and a half, ALL of the media coverage is all about Hillary.
Hillary Hillary Hillary.
I'm sick of it I'm sick of the Clintons, and I'm sick of the media forcing this shit down our throats.
HEY!! WAKE UP!!! OBAMA IS ALREADY BEATING MCCAIN'S ASS IN THE POLLS. OBAMA HAS BIG LEADS OVER MCCAIN AMONG WOMEN. THIS CLINTON CRAP IS A NON-ISSUE!!
SHUT UP! MOVE ON!
BAH!!!
June 10, 2008 10:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
you guys seriously sound so stupid complaining like this. if axelrod wants the clintons on the campaign, is that not news that should be reported? is it not equally about the obama campaign? you sound like babies. there's clearly no hidden agenda to "resurrect" the clinton campaign. why be so paranoid? it doesn't reflect well on us obama supporters.
June 10, 2008 10:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
1. On the clintons campaigning, no it's not news, Alxelrod's said the same thing 50 times or more over the last two weeks. Also, I don't think the obama campaign really wants them to campaign anyway.
2. It's always been the clintons over, and over, and over again for the last year. It's over. I am sick of seeing the name and hearing every talking point coming from the clintons' campaign. It would be nice to move on.
June 10, 2008 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, okay, but I would like her to now "show us the money."
One way that Clinton can do so is by publicly criticizing the web sites that are using her name to attack and smear Obama. These web sites claim to be made up of Hillary supporters, who now say that they will vote for McCain. Whether they are all actually her supporters is unlikely. Nevertheless, they are using her name to undermine Obama, and some of the folks on them do appear to be her supporters.
"An Open Letter to Senator Clinton: Please Undermine the Anti-Obama Web Sites (using your name)"
http://msa4.wordpress.com/
June 10, 2008 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I think we should cut Eric a break here.
I am second to no one in my enthusiasm and support for Obama, and in my frustration with both Clintons and how they, in my opinion, chose to risk the party's November prospects even when it became clear that HRC's chances of getting the nomination were extremely low -- and often tried to pursue the quixotic dream by pummelling Obama.
However, the current process of party reconciliation is a real phenomenon, vitally important, and is quite interesting in its multi-layered dynamics and etiquette. I think Eric et al. are right to report on various dimensions of it. It's not as if he's posting mere "should Hillary be veep" entries.
June 10, 2008 10:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Shorter Eric: "You need us Hillary supporters"
June 10, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
WooWooWoo. 3! 3! 3!
June 10, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Here's a possible Obama post, and I bet you could work Hillary's name into the title:
Pollster Scott Rasmussen says that as of today, based on 3,000 automated telephone surveys over the past three nights, Obama gets support from 52% of the women in his national tracking poll compared with 40% for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. He says that's better than Democrat John Kerry did with women against President Bush in 2004.
Scott attributes Obama's performance to unification within the Democratic Party over the past few days. "Before last Tuesday, Obama routinely earned around 70% of vote from Democrats," he tells us in an e-mail. "He's up to 81% today. Clearly the party has been coming together."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2008/06/are-women-shunn.html
June 10, 2008 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Woo Hoo! I loves it!
June 10, 2008 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
He also does better with Latinos than Kerry did. So much for all of those "problems"
June 10, 2008 10:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
I got it:
HILLARY'S SPEECH HEALS PARTY
June 10, 2008 10:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
excellent.
June 10, 2008 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well we don't really need Bill out there campaigning. He needs to go home and take it easy for awhile.
June 10, 2008 10:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
i disagree, Bill camp be useful IF they can control him. Hillary's problem was she couldnt control him. If Bill is on a campaign were he can be made to understand to stick to the talking points, he can be an asset.
Say what you want, but having Bill and BO campaigning side by side in the south and BO and Hillary side by side in OH and PA is a plus.
June 10, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think it's worth it - he has to be tightly controlled, it seems, and the article suggests he's not really up for it or the Obama campaign isn't up for having Bill campaign.
I'm not saying Obama doesn't need everyone he can get, and the Clintons are important, still. But I wouldn't put Bill on the campaign trail if it were me.
June 10, 2008 10:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
The thing is, he's not going to be as emotional or overprotective when it comes to Obama so I don't see him blowing up much. My question is whether he'd even be willing or enthusiastic about campaigning for Barack.
June 10, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree
June 10, 2008 10:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Campaigning ex-presidents has always been a sensitive issue, but after Bill broke with tradition to campaign for Hillary, we now suddenly have difficulty remembering that, for many good reasons, it had not until then been an accepted or common practice.
June 10, 2008 10:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
let him go out to West Virginia and such places, he can help over there, out of the media's eye because they will be small events, he'll be fine, Obama will know how to position him....and frankly, it is unavoidable that Obama would unify this way, include them rather than not, especially right now, it is smart and I am pretty sure he will handle it great....
He is in a great position and it will be even better in a few weeks, even more ahead of McCain, the Clintons' role will be automatically less influential..but part of the picture of a unified party
Obama is the boss now! and yes, we should speak much less of the Clintons but this is actually relevant and they will soon fade with the GE coming full force and the townhall debates where MCain will grow apoplectic faced with our calm, unflappable President-to-be
June 10, 2008 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Right? Does anyone think Bill would stay "on message?" He'd spend half the time boasting about his own presidency in the 1990s, the other half the time boasting about what a great gal Hillary is--and if there's any time leftover, he'll spend that chasing young babes up and down the aisles on the campaign bus...
June 10, 2008 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is it completely pathetic that a former President of the United States can't be trusted on the campaign trail and must be controlled? You'd think the guy was 12 years old.
June 10, 2008 11:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
If anyone thinks Bill Clinton should be set loose on the Obama campaign trail, please see Dick Morris's most recent column posted at The Hill; the article is all about the impossibility of controlling Bill, under any circumstances. And Morris, who worked for the Clintons for 12 years, should know.
June 10, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's how I tread Axelrod's comments. No campaining for Bill but Obama having access to Bill for his "knowledge". Not sure what that means in practical terms, but to me it means no Bubba on the stump.
I think Hillary on the stump to sooth her supporters will continue to help, esspecially if she takes up some issues, health care and women's rights are the most obvious, to show the clear differences between Obama and McCain with Obama carrying her torch forward, and McCain...not. She needs to stay away from things like Gas tax and CIC tests where she previously sided with or ranked McCain higher.
June 10, 2008 10:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama himself said he migth want Bill campaigning, with a smile he told the reporter, hey you saw the guy out there, he campaigned really hard!
I say put him on a flatbed and drive him around hillbillies areas..
June 10, 2008 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Three posts in a row on Hillary - one week to the day after she was knocked out of the race.
Keep 'em coming Eric!!!
June 10, 2008 10:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Three months and one week. She's been done since February. That's what makes this nonsense even more annoying.
June 10, 2008 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Eric is intentionally fucking with us I see..
June 10, 2008 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
81% isn't good enough. we need it up to 88% or more if we are to secure the win in November and keep republicans from stealing another election.
June 10, 2008 10:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. We are just starting out in the general, so hopefully we can grow that number.
June 10, 2008 10:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Six threads in a row: The last three about Senator Clinton, and the previous three about Senator McCain.
Why does TPM Hate Senator Obama? Hillary Clinton has endorsed him, and yet TPM continues to ignore him. What is their reason for shunning the Democratic Nominee For President. Could it be..........that he is a.....man, Hmmmmm?
BOYCOTT TPM THREADS UNTIL THEY GET THE MESSAGE THAT SENATOR OBAMA WON THE NOMINATION.
June 10, 2008 10:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm really surprised Josh hasn't stepped in. A valuable brand is being damaged here and in danger of becoming a self-parody.
June 10, 2008 10:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's just ridiculous. Obama's holding a press conference right now, and his campaign just held a 10:30 a.m. conference call to respond to McCain's attacks. I don't see any report on that here at TPM.
June 10, 2008 10:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama's holding a press conference right now. That would be nice if TPM Election Central would report on it.
June 10, 2008 10:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
And, by the way, how does Eric get that headline from the rather laconic quotes from Axelrod? There's only a tiny, forced slither of a story there. "Based on what she said publicly" implies that Obama and the campaign have not even asked her to campaign, nor do they sound at all on tenterhooks about her answer.
Why is this even a story at all?
June 10, 2008 10:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Eric is a Clinton supporter. That's why.
June 10, 2008 10:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Let's get serious here and forget the giddiness of the nomination. Obama needs more than winning the Democrats. IMHO, that was always a given. The AA vote will be out in force this cycle. The key is to keep women and seniors and Hispanics going to the polls and pulling the D lever. Hillary can help with those demos. Bubba can also help keep the "Bubba" voters from jumping to McCain, so he should be used selectively. I hope Bill's smart enough to keep thinking about legacy. Let em campaign, and see how enthusiastic they can pretend to be.
June 10, 2008 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly the right tone for Axelrod and the Obama campaign to set.
June 10, 2008 11:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's truly sad that Bill can't be trusted to behave himself on the campaign trail. Especially since a little "get real and get with the program" speech to some of Hillary's more intractable supporters might actually make a difference if it was coming from the Big Dog.
June 10, 2008 11:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
But, at least in what's quoted as evidence above, there is no implication that there is any desire to have Bill campaign -- despite the headline.
June 10, 2008 11:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, that's my reading of what Axelrod so diplomatically said, too. They want Hillary on the campaign trail. As for Bill, maybe Obama will call on him for advice once in a while. Maybe...
June 10, 2008 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Can't we go on cruise control for a while? Everybody deserves a break, especially Obama and Hillary and Bill. After a couple of weeks, Hillary can be dispatched to Florida to spend the next 5 months in the retirement complexes, chowing down early bird specials, and playing some golf and canasta while trying to convince the legions of alte cacas to vote for the schwartze even though...well, you know.
And Bill can be sent to southeast Ohio and maybe Arkansas to drum up votes among the strip miners and hog farmers whom they spent so much time prejudicing against the black guy.
They spent a lot of time and money alienating these folks from Obama. Now let's see them get 'em back.
June 10, 2008 11:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
I really wish everyone would stop blasting Eric and Greg. This stuff is all relevant. And it makes Obama supporters look small and crazed. It's all going to be okay. There's a process out of the primary into the general. Sniping at our hosts serves nothing. Obama is generous of spirit, let us try to be the same.
June 10, 2008 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hillary: Ok. Great.
Bill: NO. Keep him well supplied with chubby, orally-inclined interns so he can't do damage every time he opens his mouth.
June 10, 2008 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
i think chuck todd has it about right last night on hardball. obama will lose about 10 % of the hilliary supporters in the end. i have said that all along. also, bill clinton should not have to campaign for obama.
as far as hilliary forcing groups to take her name offof anti obama sites. keep dreaming
June 10, 2008 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm hopeful Hillary will be on the ticket. I'd love to see a number of people suddenly forced to grow up.
June 10, 2008 1:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michelle! Your anti-Obama comments and links have been an inspiration for me to donate to the Obama campaign. Just today I've donated $25 in your honor. Don't believe me? Just take a look at
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/TrollBowl
June 10, 2008 2:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Axelrod's Glitzkrieg will lose the election for his candidate and, unfortunately, the country. Clinton cannot "deliver" the votes of people who were voting "against" Obama in the first place and only secondarily "for" Hillary. They don't want another four year of a well-marketed under-experienced politician not up to the job. The Rove-Axelrod deathgrip on American politics will end not in change but in stasis.
June 10, 2008 4:26 PM | Reply | Permalink