For those displeased with Clinton's support, I'd like to know what you're looking for.

[Writer]

Don't answer by reciting (yet again) what he's not doing, because that obviously does not satisfy you. Rather, tell me what you'd like to see him do, as constructively as you can.

[BlooInBloo]

1. What support?

[Writer]

2. What should Clinton do to demonstrate that he supports Obama? n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Quit over-praising the opposition.

I could see if Clinton had been in the Senate for years and worked with McLame as long as someone like Biden has... But to continue to praise him and his running mate and give tepid, condescending approval of Obama (e.g., "he's improving" and other such nonsense), is sad.

[RichGirl]

24. As Jon Stewart said...to Bill...

He needs to tattoo an Obama bumpersticker on his forehead. Nothing less than that will make his critics happy.

[Afikpo Chic]

39. Bill Clinton - Just go away

Go away, Bill. There is a new kid on the block. Like it or not, the kid is gonna shine like you once did. Stop making a fool of yourself. GO AWAY MAD IF YOU WANT. JUST GO AWAY.

[blue-kite]

98. He doesn't support Obama so the question is moot!

Faint praise, faint praise, at best.

[polichick]

4. That pretty much says it....

Looks to me like he's using this opportunity to get some press for himself ~ I think of his interviews as "calculated masturbation" at this point.

[ClarkUSA]

19. LOL

:rofl:

[msallied]

62. Your sharp brevity never fails to amuse me. LOL

[jobycom]

3. Anybody upset by either Clinton's support is not a true Obama supporter at this point.

They are disruptors trying to split the party, or fools too ignorant to read whole answers or watch entire interviews. Most of them, I suspect, are the former.

[polichick]

5. LOL

[BlooInBloo]

11. It's their weak attempt at jujitsu-fu.

[jobycom]

20. That's one of these, isn't it?

[jobycom]

15. Glad you agree. nt

[polichick]

18. I agree that you're ridiculously funny! :)

[jobycom]

21. And right. nt

[polichick]

25. I'm starting to think you are Bill - if so, please quit diddling yourself publicly...

We're trying to elect Obama here.

[msallied]

69. ROFL

:rofl: Nicely done.

[jobycom]

90. Some of us are trying to elect Obama...

Others, not so much.

[LaydeeBug]

12. I wish I could rec a reply, because this would get it. nt

[Captain Hilts]

33. I just LOVE a conspiracy theory, but this one doesn't work. Try again. nt

[mtnsnake]

60. Yup, you nailed it, jobycom. "They are disruptors trying to split the party, or fools too ignorant"

Absolutely dead-on accurate. :thumbsup:

[TooRaLoo]

71. Um, respectfully,

eff you.

[jobycom]

89. Hit a nerve? nt

[TooRaLoo]

93. Yeah, it tends to be offensive when you accuse people of not supporting

Obama just because they don't appreciate Bill's "almost" support. This comes from a person who has REALLY missed the Clinton admin. So, kindly, fuck off.

Kisses,

Me

[countingbluecars]

6. I would like him

to stop praising McCain and saying that he would be a good president.

[Raineyb]

43. Especially given the fact that it's so obviously not true

I mean really does anyone here think that McLame would be a good President? I damn sure don't.

Regards

[demokatgurrl]

7. I haven't commented because I don't want to get into

an intra-DU fight. But I'll tell you what I'd like:
I'd like something along the lines of "Obama is the only candidate who can help right the direction of this country".
or "we MUST elect Obama president to change this country", or "I think Obama will make a great (or even "very good") President". Or "McCain is wrong for the Presidency, wrong to lead this country, and wrong on the important issues." or "McCain has demonstrated, in his selection of Sarah Palin, just how rash his judgment can be, and how dangerous a McCain administration would be".


Shit like that there....

[countingbluecars]

10. Exactly! n/t

[iconicgnom]

51. You mean, you'd like it if Bill spoke like a Dem, not a McCain supporter, for a change? So would I.

[Curtland1015]

8. Honestly, I'm trying my best to hold of on judging Clinton until all this unfolds.

So don't count me among the haters. But constructively, he could come out and say "I WANT Barack Obama to win."

He has said several times that he THINKS Obama will win, win big, etc... but it would be nice for him to say that he WANTS him to win.

[BlooInBloo]

14. hahaha! I'd love to see his face explode with the effort of spitting those words out!

:rofl:

[jbnow]

29. Not liking what Bill is doing does NOT=being a hater nt

[Curtland1015]

41. No you're right. I just mean that I'm not trying to be one of those constant Clinton bashers.

Not everyone that is upset with him right now is crazy with hate for him. But there are SOME people around here who seem to be.

[jbnow]

48. Fair enough and thanks for clarifying

Heck look how often we might really dislike our kid's or friend's actions... and we are so rarely accused of hating them!

[iconicgnom]

53. "hate" isn't even an issue.

[iconicgnom]

52. This has nothing to do with "hate", it's about our dismay that last Dem POTUS would support McCain,

while blowing off Obama with faint praise.

Saying that we're dismayed isn't "hate talk", it's the straight goods.

[Occam Bandage]

13. Stop praising John McCain. Stop defending John McCain's actions. Stop defending Sarah Palin.

[sandnsea]

16. The same enthusiasm he'd show for Hillary n/t

[Condem]

17. Obama's going to win this thing.

There comes a time, where the man has to do it on his own. And, he is. The debate.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

22. It would really be OK if Bill just left unsaid any pro-McCain comments.

Most people understand it's "just politics" if someone says something nasty about the opponent so to go so far out of the way to praise the opponent leaves people wondering who Bill really wants elected.

[Erin Elizabeth]

23. At this point, I'd be very happy if he just went golfing all the time

or started working really hard writing some speeches or another book, anything that kept him busy enough that he never made ANY comment on the campaign or the race or any of it. If he can't stop being so pro-McCain, he could at least just not say anything at all.

Hillary's been more supportive than he has!

[iceman66]

26. I don't think Bill has been 'that' bad,

but sometimes he goes a little overboard in his praise of McCain.

Hillary has been very supportive.

[Curtland1015]

27. Exactly. It's not like he came out and said "Obama sucks!"

The phrase used by someone around here a few days back is very apt... "damned by faint praise."

That's what it seems like.

[iceman66]

32. I don't think he's necessarily trying to help McCain

Seems to me that when he's on these interview shows he's trying to come across as a sort of learned elder, someone who is above the fray. More of a commentator than an advocate.

We'll have to wait and see what he says when he actually goes out on the stump.

[rebel with a cause]

86. I have been giving Bill the benefit of a doubt and blame editing

and so on, but watched him today and I was really turned off by his praise for mccain. I am sorry but enough is enough, we have all heard him say how much he likes the man. When he talks about Obama, his face changes and anyone can see he is having a problem with what he is saying. I am at this point thinking things about the man that I will not give voice to. I will just say that I am really over Bill Clinton and I just wish he would get over himself.

There is a saying that if you cannot say anything good about someone, say nothing at all, Bill should follow this advice and say nothing at all and go back to what ever he was doing away from the press.

[endthewar]

28. I think that Bill needs to take a leave of absence for "personal reasons"

and stay off the news networks. David Axelrod must be pulling out his hair trying to figure out a way to mitigate the damage that Bill is dishing out. I think that they should have Obama and Bill hold a joint rally together where they give each other lots of praise. Maybe that will temporarily satiate Bill's ego and keep him from pulling an October surprise.

[polichick]

30. I don't think he'd give up this new spotlight without a fight...

He's milking it for all it's worth ~ who knows when so many people will book him again!

[endthewar]

35. This is precisely why Obama couldn't pick Hillary.

Obama knew that although Hillary would be onboard 100%, Bill wouldn't be. Imagine if Obama had picked Hillary for the V.P. spot. Bill would be on the news networks just about everyday as the #1 surrogate for the Obama-Hillary ticket. Tepid praise just doesn't get it done these days in politics. Even Joe Lieberman understands that.

[BlooInBloo]

31. Don't go away mad, Bill. Just go away.

[LiberalAndProud]

34. Our former President is doing very well.

I think we tend to forget he was elected to serve all Americans, not just Democrats. So if you've got Bill's ear, Writer, will you please tell him from me that I think he's doing a difficult task very well? Thanks.

[endthewar]

37. You obviously don't have cable

Otherwise you would be inundated with interviews almost as puzzling as the ones Palin is giving. Even if Bill still has reservations about Obama becoming President, now is not the best time to air them to the American people on all of the news networks. Bill is clearly putting his perceived legacy before the country. Hillary was a good candidate, but she lost, so it's time for Bill to jump on board with the Obama-Biden ticket 100%.

[demokatgurrl]

46. He is no longer in elected office. n/t

[Danger Mouse]

36. I don't have any major beef with him because I LOVED his convention speech however...

I do think he's being too kind to Palin and McCain.

[pinto]

38. The election is Obama v. McCain.

Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Kennedy, Carter and others are strong voices, given their individual roles in the party. Kerry and Kennedy remain members of the Senate. Clinton, Gore and Carter have each established roles beyond their elective service.

And, none of them are on the ticket this time. I'm fine with them all supporting our ticket, as they do.
And I support each one's individual effort to forward an agenda that is integral to our party's role in the country.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Every Man A King]

42. He could say

John Mccain is honorable blah blah but he has run a gimmicky and erratic campaign.

[Cha]

44. Not say things like this on national tv..

Most people would have been broken by what he went through. His greatness is that he keeps trying to come back to service without ever asking people to cut him any slack or feel sorry for him because he was a POW

- William Jefferson Clinton, September 28, 2008 speaking about John McCain on Meet the Press

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=cN4to3u-wSQ

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7236078

[rebel with a cause]

87. I about choked when he said that mccain never "asked people

to cut him any slack or feel sorry for him because he was a POW". Where the hell has Bill been for the last year, and how could he keep a straight face and say that out and out lie. If mccain asked for any more slack or pity for being a POW forty years ago, he would be running ads in the paper every day telling people that they owed him the presidency because he was a POW. He went on to insinuate that mccain was unusual to have been able to do this. I'll bet that surprised the other guys who came back with him and who had been prisoners as long or longer than he had been. Unfortunately, they didn't have as high a profile as mccain and they went back to normal lives and didn't profit from their experiences.

Okay, I was going to keep my mouth shut but weakened and said this much. Trust me that I could say much more.

[Arkansas Granny]

45. I wish those people would read the transcript of his interview with Larry King where

he explains his support of Obama and his reasons for not slamming McCain:

Now some of them, as we all know, are so enthralled, as all of our strongest supporters are, that they don’t think you’re for them unless you’re dumping on somebody else. I personally think that is not a good strategy to win this election.

That is, everybody wants Hillary or me or, for that matter, Senator Obama or Senator Biden just to say bad things about Senator McCain or Governor Palin. Those people are already for us.

We’ve got to go get some votes here of people who voted for Hillary in the primary and are undecided, or people who didn’t vote in the primary. By and large these people are not political junkies. They are having a hard time paying their bills. They want a change. And they are listening very, very careful.
----------------------

Also in that interview he spoke of going to campaign for Obama:

And I’ve done everything I could to try to get everybody there without regard to party or philosophy to think about what we should all be doing in America and around the world.

But when this is over, and after the Jewish holidays, which follow close on it, I intend to go to Florida, to Ohio, to Northeast Pennsylvania and to Nevada, at a minimum. I may do events in Arkansas, depending on what the Democratic Party does down there. And I have some fundraising for them in California and New York.

KING: Do they ask you, go here, go there?

CLINTON: Yes.

http://www.clipsandcomment.com/2008/09/25/transcript-bill-clinton-with-larry-king-september-24-2008/

It seems to me that Bill Clinton may not be saying the things that some people would like to hear, but he is saying things that other people need to hear in order to persuade them to vote for Obama. If Bill were to start slamming McCain/Palin, these people wouldn't listen any further. In addition to this, it seems that he is taking his cues from Obama's campaign.

[aaaaaa5a]

47. I would like to see

Fire and passion!

[iconicgnom]

49. Please read: Brokaw To Clinton: Will You Praise Obama Like You Praise McCain?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/28/brokaw-to-clinton-will-yo_n_130030.html

Read the whole thing. Recall that this isn't a one-off, that we have a consistent pattern here - that Bill Clinton might just as well come right out and say it, he's engaged in a soft-pedal campaign for John McCain's run for the presidency.

I have no respect for the man.

[HughMoran]

50. I have no respect for you

That's an infantile way of looking at Bill's support for Obama.
:smoke:

[iconicgnom]

56. Those are quite some rhetorical skills you're wielding there!

I gather, from your argument, that I'm to conclude that they exemplify the best one can expect from your well seasoned, mature faculties.

:loveya:

[HughMoran]

57. Why aren't you whining about Carter's not being out on all the shows helping Obama?

I don't care what you think of me - anybody who can be so despicable toward Bill Clinton is no friend of mine. Ever.

Ever.

Ever.

You're disgusting.

[msallied]

64. It's better to say nothing than to offer subtle endorsements of your party's opposition.

Clinton is an opportunistic scumbag.

[HughMoran]

67. Yeah, I'd rather have all my endorsers sitting at home than out trying to APPEAL TO THE MIDDLE

You do realize that "seeming reasonable" to the middle of the road voters is exactly how Bill got elected - twice. He's doing the same now - Obama has plenty of support from the left, I don't think Clinton is worried if some on the left don't approve of his more subtle techniques.

[msallied]

68. Clinton has never worried about anything but Clinton

and what he can stand to gain from his coddling of the enemy. It's how he governed and it's what he's doing now. He's not appealing to the middle of the road by sending mixed messages. He's keeping his avenues open simply because he thinks he can get something out of either a McCain or an Obama administration.

[HughMoran]

70. I simply disagree

you have decided he's devious and there is no way I can argue with that since it is just an opinion.

[msallied]

72. Give me one instance of genuine altruism he's shown toward Barack Obama

And I might consider that he's not being devious. Meanwhile, praising the enemy and defending the stupidity of Sarah Palin is doing the Democrats NO favors.

[HughMoran]

73. You're opinion is wrong IMO

I don't need to "give examples" since I can't get inside his head. He was quite complimentary in the two appearances I saw, so that's good enough for me.

[msallied]

76. And I saw the same appearances and saw the opposite.

So yeah, I guess we're at an impasse. I resent Bill Clinton for many many reasons.

[HughMoran]

77. Exactly. You're resentment skewed your opinion

It's called politics.

[iconicgnom]

75. At one time I argued in support of Bill, saying "consider the Republican alternative".

He was definitely a better *Republican* pres. than Nixon, Reagan and Bush 1 & 2. He left the US economy in good shape, in a superficial surplus-vs-deficit way, even tho' he did little to change a long-term "non-partisan" course that was clearly out of balance, favoring a militaristic/deregulatory economics to the detriment of quite literally everything else. Still, he didn't invade small countries just for something to do, because he and the american population in general was bored and wanted a show - like Reagan and Bush-1 did. And that's something. On the other hand, his treatment of women, including a most jr. employee, was appalling. A terrible example.

But he's in effect campaigning for McCain now, in a weasely soft-see way, and it's disgusting. I agree with you, he's showing that when the chips are down, he's an self-involved opportunistic scumbag.

[iconicgnom]

78. Carter isn't praising and campaigning for McCain.

[rebel with a cause]

88. When Carter does appear he sangs Obama's praises.

There is a world of difference in what he says and how he says it in comparison to Bill. You evidently have a thing for Bill, and that is okay but don't get angry when someone else does not share your obsession.

When you supporters of the Clintons were attacking Barack during the primaries, I put you on ignore and very seldom argued with you. I suggest if you want nothing said negative about Bill and his behavior, 1) don't start threads praising/defending him. 2) put those who disagree with you on ignore 3) get over it like you tell others to do. JMHO

[dansolo]

54. Say something negative about McCain

Surrogates are supposed to either enthusiastically support the nominee, or attack their opponent. Instead Clinton is only tepidly endorsing Obama, and complimenting McCain and Palin at every opportunity. I'd rather he just shut up if that's how he is going to play this.

[Pisces]

55. Stay out of this election cycle if he can not muster enthusiasm.

[elkston]

58. Duplicate Message

[elkston]

59. I don't expect him to call Obama a "great man". Just want a decisive endorsment.

I just want him to express a modicum of pride and confidence in our ticket. A simple "Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the right guys for this job. You've got judgment, good instincts, and leadership".

He can give some compliments to McCain as long as in the end, he puts in the votes of confidence for our guys.

Just saying "Barack Obama will win" doesn't mean shit.

[msallied]

61. I'd like for him to attack John McCain with the same vigor with which he attacked Barack Obama.

That doesn't appear to be asking too much.

[ShortnFiery]

63. Clinton who? Oh, you must mean the good Senator?

:evilgrin:

[Kdillard]

65. I would like to see him follow his wife's example. If he can't he

needs to go concentrate on his charity or on a book or something. Right now he needs to stop talking.

[mitchum]

66. He just needs to go back to the 20th century

[Tatiana]

74. I'd like for him to just be quiet until after Nov. 4th. n/t

[political_Dem]

79. I would like Mr. Clinton to show a little tact and take a small vacation...

until Nov. 4th.

That's all.

[Imagevision]

80. Notice that we only hear from Bill is when he has been out of the spotlight for a long time and

he uses stooges like Larry King etc. to give his image a boost when it needs it - Bill would have a meltdown if he lost the limelight indefinitely...don't ya think?

[Lord Helmet]

81. look up Monica again and lay low until the election

[Metric System]

82. Again, did I stumble on Free Republic?

[Lord Helmet]

83. he is an adulterer and a liar, he admitted it -- he's a flake

[ibegurpard]

84. I'd like him to fade away

His time has past.

[donheld]

85. A big hug and kiss!

:D

[Hippo_Tron]

91. I'd like him talk about John McCain's character in a negative manner

Not because I believe it will help Obama but because if someone made a joke in public about my teenage daughter being ugly, that's what I would do.

[rebel with a cause]

92. Good one...

I never forgave my father for somethings done to my children, do you think I would give this a**hole the praise after he said that about my adolescent daughter. Not in your life..

[D23MIURG23]

94. I'd like him not to praise McCain, and I'd like him to use Obama's name.

If that is too difficult, removing his ass from the spotlight would be equally appreciated. I don't think we actually need him at this point, but having him out there stumping for McCain by praising him while failing to mention Obama by name is damaging.

[Life Long Dem]

95. Obama is running away with this, and we have a Bill post about how he can help?

:rofl: Good one! :rofl:

[ShortnFiery]

96. Clinton who?!? Oh, you must mean the good Senator from New York State.

:evilgrin:

[nsd]

97. I don't want him to do anything, really.

I just want him to go home to Chappaqua. He should spend the next five weeks watching TV, playing video games, and surfing the Web. Anything. Just stop giving all these interviews. Just stop talking. Just shut up!

[blue-kite]

99. Agreed...

I think that if Bill has anything on his mind in these recent days its been BILL and BILL alone.