Bill Clinton can be utterly brilliant. His speech at the Democratic convention was, I would argue, largely responsible for the bounce Obama enjoyed. Having said that, his comments today seem ill-advised.
“Governor Romney’s argument is, we’re not fixed, so fire him and put me in,” Clinton said during an Obama rally. “It is true we’re not fixed.”
This is clearly true, but is it wise for Clinton to remind us? We hire presidents to fix problems, so an admission that President Obama failed to solve our problems is hardly a terrific rallying cry.
Clinton also reportedly said Mitt Romney’s message is, “we messed it up, he didn’t fix it, put us back in.”
But that premise rests on the notion that Mitt Romney and George W. Bush are exactly the same. This, of course, is why Romney might be wise to continue distancing himself from the last Republican president.