A couple years ago, the world’s major auto makers seemed obsessed with a certain kind of car commercial. The spots featured classic Cadillacs, Mercedes, or Fords, side-by-side with their supposedly superior modern counterparts, charging down a deserted highway. For a while, the ads were everywhere, then, almost overnight, they were pulled. It seemed an odd move. After all, who doesn’t like seeing those old cars? Then it hit me. Those classics looked a heck of a lot better than the new models. Who wants a plastic coated 2010 Caddy, when you’ve just seen it sitting next to its stately chrome and steel 1940 grandfather?
Enter Bill Clinton, and his decision to campaign for troubled 2010 Democrat Congressional candidates.
Obviously, the Dems are trying to dig their way out of a pretty deep hole and they think Bill’s star power is going to help. Among a certain percentage of the already faithful, they may be right. Still, nostalgia can be a double-edged sword and Clinton’s campaigning reveals very real problems for the left.
However much the DNC hates to admit it, Bill Clinton is the same guy who was impeached for lying under oath. He’s the same guy who wagged his finger at America, tried to implement a health care plan even less popular than Obamacare, and refused to take Bin Laden from Sudan. Democrats have always been loath to acknowledge that the Clintons — both of them — carry an awful lot of baggage. His presence on the stump may be welcomed by the base, but the Dems are supremely overconfident if they think he’ll change any minds.
Democrats also need to ask themselves just how unpopular they actually are. Is their party’s last, best, hope really a president who, 12 years ago, was nearly removed from office? Shouldn’t these people be running on what they’ve “accomplished” since taking control of Congress in 2006? If the modern Democrats’ policies are so popular, so good for America, why do Democrats feel the need to trot out a man who left office almost a decade ago?
The answer, of course, is Barack Obama. The sitting president, allegedly a man of hope, change, and impending success, has become an electoral albatross of epic proportions. His foreign policies are deeply unpopular, his handling of the economy is seen as having failed, and his staff is running for the political lifeboats. Both of his major achievements, health care reform and the stimulus package, were jammed down the country’s throat despite its objections. Obama is, in large part, the reason candidates have found themselves in such trouble. He can’t also be their savior.
So the party is hoping that Bill Clinton can save the day. Unfortunately, like the car ads, all he does is shine a light on the fact that the current crop of Democrats, from the president on down, are looking pretty bad. Their Republican challengers have little to fear. Old cars may look great, but nostalgia will only get you so far.
People are smart enough to realize that a vote for a struggling left-wing congressman isn’t a vote for Bill Clinton. It’s a vote for an Obama ally.
At this point, that’s awfully tough to overcome.
Robert Laurie is a Michigan-based conservative columnist and freelance writer. He also runs a daily political commentary blog at RobertLaurie.net.