Preisdent of the World

I saw a documentary last week about Bill Clinton called President of the World. An argument is made in the show that Clinton is the most popular politician in the world. This might well be true. He is the rock star of the Democratic party. I think it would be a safe bet to ask Democrats who they would rather meet and talk to and Clinton would win.

Bill Clinton made mistakes and for me personally I am always going to be angry with him for blowing his second term ( pun intended.) Watching Clinton outside the Presidency is to see him doing the same things he did as President without having the Republicans trying to crucify him for it. To Republicans he is not a neutered puppy. Any love Democrats give him diminish current Democrats in comparison. It is at some times a zero sum game and Clinton can only diminish someone like Obama.

The relationship is naturally an odd one. Anyone who saw Clinton at the White House last year answering questions in the briefing room knows that Clinton loves the spotlight and that Obama was smart to leave the room rather than stand there like the replacement holding the fellow who had his job before reminded people of his successors defiencies.

Watching Clinton make his grand tour last year to talk about his Global Iniative project one saw him at his best. This man is a fountain of information and much more he has an intellectual curiousity that might only compare with Jefferson or Teddy Roosevelt in terms of Presidents. Watching this show the other night seeing him speak in Africa about developing methods to grow food more efficiently you see him ask what a certain method will do to increse the yield per hectare of soybeans. And he means it. In American politics we sometimes find that candidates that are " too smart" do not succeed as we do not think their likability factor is enough.

Obama suffers from this issue. My son is considering career paths as college approaches in a couple of years. He says he would like to make a good amount of money and I find myself telling him I want him to be successful and not have to worry about money of course but that I also want him to find what he likes and enjoys and see if we can find a career that will make him a good life in that interest field.

President Obama reminds me of someone who decided that he wanted to be President but did not know that to be a successful President you had to like politics. One never doubts for a minute that Bill Clinton loved and loves politics. He loves people. His empathy and interest is sincere, never to be doubted, while the empathy of Barack Obama is constantly questioned. I do not think Obama does not care, far from it, but I do believe the emotionalism of politics, the spirit of it is unseemly to him.

Bill Clinton reminds me of a man that works hard out in the summer sun and comes in to the house and while sweaty gives his wife a big hug. Obama reminds me of the wife who gets the hug and while appreciating the sentiment is made uncomfortable by the sweat and skin and closeness mixture.

Bill Clinton is the greatest politician of his era. If he ran for President he would win in a landslide and I firmly believe that the amendment which disallows Presidents from running again after a period out of office is a bad one. Why would we automatically disqualify some of the best candidates from running.

Bill made his mistakes. We all do. The difference is we never doubted that Clinton cared about us. I do not think Obama knows the average persons struggles and I am not sure he cares about an individual. Two years into his Presidency and I am not even sure he knows what he is trying to do.