Stories related to: Bill Clinton

For Bill and Hillary Clinton, 2008 is smacking of 1998, as the struggle to stay in the presidential race looks remarkably like the battle to survive impeachment, argues Michael Crowley in the New Republic . The former first couple is under siege again, and again is willing to “ride out any crisis”—wrapping themselves in the mantle of populism and indicting the press. More »

Ronald Reagan’s influence on American courts remains unprecedented, and his transformation of the nomination process is only part of the story. With sheer numbers and ideological consistency, Reagan created a legacy that will influence American justice well into the 21st century, and perhaps beyond, USA Today reports. More »

Barack Obama would be wise to put Hillary Clinton on his ticket, write John F. Martin and Jonathan Harris in Politico. Here's why: Obama has no choice. He needs Clinton’s Catholic and blue-collar supporters, and he’ll be pressured to include her for the party’s sake. He may dislike Clinton, but that’s irrelevant. Picking her will show he really can overcome divisions and be a true uniter. More »

With Barack Obama headed toward the Democratic nomination, the Clintons' long reign over the party looks likely to end, the New York Times reports. That could lead to a bold new era—or a divided party that Obama can’t reconcile. “It’s going to create an upheaval,” said one Democratic organizer. “The Clintons and their allies have been running the show for 16 years.” More »

On the flight home from his North Carolina victory last night, Barack Obama’s top adviser signaled that the next phase of the race has begun: “I don’t think we are going to spend our time solely in primary states.” Confirming a reporter’s interpretation that the candidate would be moving on to general-election territory, he added, “We are not going to take anything for granted. But we are also going to spend time addressing broader issues.” More »

Urbanites in North Carolina prefer Barack Obama, while rural voters side with Hillary Clinton—which is why she spent all weekend trying to sway mixed regions like small cities and far-out suburbs. Obama, meanwhile, is counting on a hidden strength with country folk and his far-reaching publicity machine to win tomorrow's primary, the Charlotte Observer reports More »

Barack Obama's lead over Hillary Clinton among black voters is perhaps not surprising, but Clinton could have avoided such devastating losses in the demographic, Thomas Schaller writes in Salon. "One would expect Obama to win these voters, but 90-10 is a total collapse that Obama is not experiencing among any constituency. Simply put, Hillary Clinton has a black problem," says one analyst. More »

Before winning the Teamsters’ endorsement, Barack Obama said he’d support ending government oversight of the union, an unusual stance for a presidential candidate, reports the Wall Street Journal . An independent board has policed the historically organized-crime-influenced Teamsters since 1992; Bill Clinton, John Kerry, and Al Gore left the matter to the Justice Department. More »

With an assist from a pesky, unforgiving press, Bill Clinton has turned into a faux pas machine—making him seem more a liability than an asset for his wife. But the former president is in truth the most convincing person on the campaign trail, and is animated by a deep-seated anger at Barack Obama’s attacks on the Clinton legacy, Ryan Lizza writes in the New Yorker . More »

Americans love their ironic T-shirts, especially when they make coy references to politicians' sex scandals. The Internet is awash with "Client #9" and "Zippergate '98" gear, but the phenomenon isn't restricted to the digital age. It's version 2.0 of the traditional smear campaign—"as American as apple pie," one political analyst told Radar . More »

Despite controversial remarks on more than one occasion, Bill Clinton has moved to the forefront of his wife’s campaign, the Wall Street Journal reports. In what some insiders call the “Billification” of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, the ex-President is pushing for sharper attacks on Barack Obama amid an aggressive stumping schedule. “We’re not quitters,” he reportedly tells his wife. More »

South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn slammed Bill Clinton’s “bizarre” campaign-trail conduct in an interview yesterday with the New York Times , saying that “black people are incensed” over Clinton’s remarks about Barack Obama. Clinton earlier compared Obama’s win in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson’s 1988 success there, then Monday claimed the Obama campaign had “played the race card on me” by making an issue of it.  More »

Barack Obama’s top strategist yesterday downplayed the demographic that sank his candidate in Pennsylvania on NPR, noting that the “white working class has gone to the Republican nominee for many elections, going back even to the Clinton years.” Added David Axelrod: "This is not new that Democratic candidates don't rely solely on those votes." More »

As more longtime Clintonites succumb to Obamania and Hillary Clinton's superdelegate lead gradually diminishes, the former first couple is left to sift their friendships into past and present. But while the Clinton camp sees shifts toward Barack Obama as acts of betrayal, others consider them comeuppance for the Clintons' habit of collecting political allies and taking them for granted, reports the New York Times . More »

Barack and Michelle Obama earned $4.2 million last year, mostly from royalties from Obama's two books, Dreams From My Father and the Audacity of Hope . The Obamas' newly released returns for 2007 show they paid $1.4 million in federal taxes and gave $240,370 to charity, USA Today notes. His book sales have skyrocketed since he became a national figure. More »

Hillary Clinton's strong public stance against the crackdown in Tibet flies in the face of her husband's past fundraising ties in China, reports the LA Times . At the crux is a 2005 speech the former president gave for which he received an undisclosed donation to his charitable foundation—from Internet giant Alibaba. More »

Bill Richardson says negative ads and arm-twisting phone calls from the Clinton camp pushed him to back Barack Obama last month, the Los Angeles Times reports. The New Mexico governor, labeled a "Judas" after supporting Obama, says he almost backed Hillary until her "3 a.m." ads came out—and Clintonites called saying he owed her support. "That really ticked me off," he said. More »

Just when you thought the controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton's trip to Bosnia had died down, Bill Clinton resuscitated it with an impassioned defense of his wife's claims. During a rally at an Indiana high school, the former president lashed out at the media for treating Hillary as if "she'd robbed a bank" for suggesting that she dodged sniper fire in 1996. More »

Bill Clinton is costing taxpayers significantly more in publicly funded perks than the two other surviving former presidents, reports Politico. From 2001 through the end of this year, $8 million will be spent on Bill Clinton, compared with $5.5 million for George H. W. Bush and $4 million for Jimmy Carter during the same period. A big chunk goes to lifelong secret service protection, pension, staff and travel expenses. More »

While Hillary Clinton stands accused of exaggerating her part in the 1998 Irish peace process, the answer might lie in an unlikely 150-page document—Chelsea Clinton's senior thesis from Stanford. Only problem? No one seems to know where it's gone, Newsweek reports, and a Clinton spokesman warns it was "written to satisfy an academic requirement—not media curiosity." More »