Indira A.R. LakshmananWed Jun 4, 12:01 AM ET
June 4 (Bloomberg) -- When Hillary Clinton launched her presidential bid 17 months ago, her husband -- with his formidable political talents and popularity among Democrats nostalgic for the 1990s -- was seen as her greatest strength.
By the close of the primaries yesterday, with his wife's White House hopes dashed by an unexpectedly strong challenger, Bill Clinton had become at least as well-known for his hot- tempered outbursts that hurt her candidacy and damaged his own legacy.
``He was a huge asset in getting her to the starting gate,'' said Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. ``Once the campaign began, he became much more of a mixed blessing, and at times a problem.''
Clinton hit the campaign trail almost daily since Jan. 3, when his wife's candidacy was imperiled by Illinois Senator Barack Obama's upset victory in Iowa. He minced no words in attacking her rival, as well as the press for giving Obama, 46, what he said was fawning and uncritical coverage.
Those efforts backfired, generating negative media attention, offending blacks and other constituents that Bill Clinton, 61, had promised to deliver, and alienating Democratic Party leaders.
Bill Galston, a former domestic policy aide in the Clinton White House, said the former president may have hurt Senator Clinton's candidacy by ``half a dozen highly visible incidents where his commitment to his wife and her campaign led him to say honest and passionate things that on sober reflection he probably wished he hadn't said.''
Taking a Hit
Bill Clinton's own popularity has also taken a beating. In a January NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, he got favorable ratings from a plurality of voters, including 78 percent of Democrats. By April, more voters had a negative view of him than a positive one, and his favorable ratings among Democrats had dropped, including among black voters.
The first of several gaffes came just before the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary, when he told a crowd at Dartmouth College that Obama's opposition to the Iraq War had been exaggerated.
``Give me a break,'' Clinton said of Obama's record on the war since he joined the U.S. Senate. ``This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.'' The remarks were widely misconstrued that he meant Obama's quest for the presidency itself was a ``fairy tale,'' and many blacks took offense.
U.S. Representative James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and the highest-ranking black member of Congress who was neutral at the time, threatened to endorse Clinton's opponent.
Jesse Jackson Comparison
Weeks later, Clinton compared Obama's success in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's wins there in 1984 and 1988 -- a reference that was taken as dismissive of Obama's national reach and appeal to white voters.
Bill Clinton had been popular among black voters -- author Toni Morrison once famously dubbed him ``America's first black president.'' Yet some of his remarks were interpreted as race- baiting.
In April, during a Philadelphia radio interview, he accused Obama's campaign of having played ``the race card'' against him over his South Carolina comments. Questioned later by a reporter about the broadcast remarks, he angrily denied having made them.
Clinton said in a Feb. 4 interview with Bloomberg Radio that he was ``genuinely hurt'' if he caused offense to anyone with comments construed as racially insensitive. He said he had learned he had to choose his words carefully in defending his wife, who is 60.
``Every time I defend her, it becomes a story,'' he said. ``To break new ground means I'm making news, and I've got no business making news.''
`Force-Multiplier'
There's little doubt the former president boosted his wife's popularity among a segment of loyal Democratic voters who remember the peace and prosperity during his two White House terms. He was especially effective in getting out the vote in small towns and rural areas in Pennsylvania and other states.
``In military terms, he was a force-multiplier,'' said Galston. ``His tireless campaigning greatly expanded her reach.'' Senator Clinton's campaign hit back this week at a Vanity Fair magazine piece that attacked her husband's post-presidency and role in her race, citing data showing she won by huge margins in several Pennsylvania counties her husband visited. It quoted press reports that praised his skill at delivering stump speeches.
All About Hillary
James Carville, a senior strategist for Bill Clinton, dismissed the suggestion that the former president had hobbled his wife's campaign. ``This was a race about her,'' Carville said. ``I'd be reluctant to give him credit or blame for too much.''
However much the former president tried to help his wife, his final blow to her efforts may be to diminish her chances of becoming Obama's running mate. On a conference call yesterday with New York lawmakers, Senator Clinton said she'd be willing to run for vice president if it would help win the White House.
However, a number of politicians said the former president would bring too much baggage to a Clinton-Obama ticket.
``She'd bring along Big Daddy, and he would overshadow the president,'' said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, a supporter of Hillary Clinton's White House bid.
To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net
