The Transformational Dream

Bill Clinton’s recent emergence as Hillary’s principal anti-Obama attack dog has left a lot of people somewhat uncomfortable. We’re not generally accustomed to seeing this sort of bare knuckled political brawling from a former president (all the effort seems to be wearing Bill out too). Eugene Robinson supplies a reason for Bill’s furious anti-Obama rhetoric: “Obama’s candidacy not only threatens to obliterate the dream of a Clinton Restoration. It also fundamentally calls into question Bill Clinton’s legacy by making it seem . . . not really such a big deal.” Robinson notices that Barack’s remarks on Reagan possess a deeper subtext. While Clinton merely repositioned the Democrats in the post-Reagan era, Obama wants to transform the landscape like Reagan did, leaving Bill’s accomplishments a historical footnote.