Editor's letter: A wary friendship
Four years ago, Barack Obama publicly disdained Bill Clinton’s small-beer politics, vowing to be boldly “transformational” like Ronald Reagan.
They don’t like each other much, yet are bound together by a plot worthy of Shakespeare. Barack Obama: the reluctant politician who loves mankind but, according to other Democrats, finds most people irritating. Bill Clinton: the most natural politician of our era, a flaming extrovert who radiates warmth, craves attention, and leaves any gathering only when he’s dragged away. Four years ago, Obama publicly disdained Clinton’s small-beer politics, vowing to be boldly “transformational” like Ronald Reagan. It was one of the many wounds Clinton nursed after Obama came out of nowhere to edge out his wife in the 2008 primaries. But as Ryan Lizza reports in The New Yorker this week, these two proud, headstrong men have recently developed a wary friendship. Humbled, and with his presidency on the line, Obama asked Clinton to make the critical nominating speech at the convention this week, hoping he could work his old magic with white, middle-class voters.
The Big Dog’s satisfaction must be deep. Shortly after he left office, in 2001, his approval rating plunged to 39 percent; the pardons he issued to donors and cronies appalled even those who defended him during Monica. But after a dozen brutal years of recession, war, and deficits, the Clinton years gradually took on the gauzy glow of nostalgia. Today, Clinton is the country’s most popular living politician, with an approval rating of 66 percent. What people remember is the booming economy, and an actual surplus in his final budget. Obama’s campaign slogan may be “Forward,” but it has a new, retro subtext: If you put me back in the White House, he’s saying, I’ll give you a third Clinton term. Who said politics isn’t entertaining?
William Falk
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
In The Spotlight A new study reveals the strengths and limitations
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'I will not be silent' on Gaza, says Kamala Harris
Speed Read In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris supported Israel's right to defend itself while expressing a desire to end Palestinian suffering
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'How long can TikTok dominate as a social network?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The road to theocracy
Opinion When justices and presidents promote one religion
By William Falk Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Death of a dissident
Opinion How Navalny's fight against Putin will endure
By Susan Caskie Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published