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You are here: Home / Archives for Bill Clinton

The Comeback Kid Is Back

January 4, 2016 at 10:39 am EST By Taegan Goddard 34 Comments

Rick Klein: “It’s Big Dog season, and who better (who else, really?) to welcome Bill Clinton to the campaign trail than Donald Trump? The challenge for Clinton will be to be helpful without being harmful – and that means being approximately as non-controversial, even boring, as he’s capable of being in the run-up to Iowa and New Hampshire.”

“Enter Trump into this equation, with his mocking Tweets and outright threats to make the former president’s sexual indiscretions into fair campaign game. Barack Obama’s rise got under Clinton’s skin in ways that weren’t helpful back in 2007-2008. This time it’s Trump who is most likely to get Clinton off message; unlike Obama, he’s actually trying to do just that. Clinton may be more disciplined than he was eight years ago. But rope lines near Bill Clinton will be the most interesting place in politics for the next few weeks.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Donald Trump

Bill Clinton Returns to the Campaign Trail

January 2, 2016 at 12:05 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

The Guardian: “Twenty-four years later, ‘the comeback kid’ will return to the stump in New Hampshire on Monday. He will be hoping to administer another Lazarus-like political resuscitation. After the sting of rejection in 2008, when his wife was bested by a young upstart named Barack Obama, he will make the case for Hillary Clinton’s second shot at becoming the first woman in the White House.”

“This time the former secretary of state appears to be on course, with a comfortable lead in Democratic polls after debate performances that apparently neutralised the socialist insurgency of Bernie Sanders. Her campaign says it raised $37m in the past three months, a record for a non-incumbent, and more than $112m in all of 2015. The Republican field, meanwhile, remains overcrowded and chaotic.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton

Trump Says Clinton is an ‘Abuser of Women’

December 30, 2015 at 4:15 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

Donald Trump called former President Bill Clinton “one of the great abusers of the world” and said women “don’t like Hillary Clinton,” The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “She’s hitting me really hard with the women card. She’s not going to win.”

He added that “nobody respects women more than Donald Trump.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, Clinton Legacy Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Donald Trump

Huckabee Bets on Trump in Clash with Clinton

December 28, 2015 at 12:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 26 Comments

“When it comes to Donald Trump’s threat to go after Bill Clinton as the former president ramps up campaigning for his wife’s bid, Mike Huckabee is all in on his Republican rival,” Politico reports.

Said Huckabee: “Look, nothing’s backfired on Donald Trump yet. I’d put my money on him. Frankly, he’s played the whole media game like a kid on Christmas morning with a toy drum. He’s beaten the heck out of them, and I honestly don’t think that this is going to hurt Donald Trump … and I think the Clintons have some vulnerability here.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Mike Huckabee

Bill Clinton to Hit Campaign Trail

December 20, 2015 at 8:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

Former President Bill Clinton will start campaigning for Hillary Clinton in January, she told supporters at a party after the third Democratic presidential debate, Bloomberg reports.

Said Mrs. Clinton: “Starting in January, I’ll have my not-so-secret weapon.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton

Inside the Clinton Donor Network

November 19, 2015 at 7:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

A Washington Post investigation reveals how Bill and Hillary Clinton have methodically cultivated donors over 40 years, from Little Rock to Washington and then across the globe. The grand total raised for all of their political campaigns and their family’s charitable foundation reaches at least $3 billion.

Filed Under: Business of Politics, Clinton Legacy Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton

Quote of the Day

October 7, 2015 at 8:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 6 Comments

“There is a macho appeal to saying I’m just sick of nothing happening, I’m going to make things happen, vote for me.”

— Bill Clinton, on The Late Show, explaining Donald Trump’s appeal.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton

Clinton Blames GOP for Wife’s Email Problems

September 26, 2015 at 11:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 49 Comments

Bill Clinton “blamed Republicans who hope to undercut his wife’s presidential chances and a voracious political news media uninterested in substance for the furor surrounding Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email account and server while she was secretary of state,” the New York Times reports.

Said Clinton: “I have never seen so much expended on so little.”

“Mr. Clinton likened the current inquiries into Mrs. Clinton’s emails to scandals as far back as the Whitewater land deal that plagued his 1992 campaign and his administration.”

Filed Under: Clinton Legacy Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton

Bonus Quote of the Day

September 15, 2015 at 11:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

“He would be good, but he’s not eligible under the Constitution. He has served his two terms and I think the argument would be as Vice President it would not be possible for him to ever succeed to the position — at least that’s what I’ve been told… It has crossed my mind.”

— Hillary Clinton, in an interview on Extra, on having Bill Clinton as her running mate.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton

Trump Consulted Clinton Before Announcing Bid

August 5, 2015 at 4:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 88 Comments

Bill Clinton “had a private telephone conversation in late spring with Donald Trump at the same time that the billionaire investor and reality-television star was nearing a decision to run for the White House,” the Washington Post reports.

“Four Trump allies and one Clinton associate familiar with the exchange said that Clinton encouraged Trump’s efforts to play a larger role in the Republican Party and offered his own views of the political landscape.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Donald Trump

Bonus Quote of the Day

July 23, 2015 at 1:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

“Oh my God… I’ll never run for office. I’m too aggressive, and nobody will ever vote for me.”

— Hillary Clinton, as recalled by Bill Clinton in a Time interview.

Filed Under: Clinton Legacy Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton

Have Republicans Stopped Falling in Line?

July 15, 2015 at 11:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 27 Comments

Nate Silver recalls a famous Bill Clinton quote: “You know the difference in Democrats and Republicans? In every presidential election, Democrats want to fall in love. Republicans just fall in line.”

“But this year, the historical trend has reversed itself. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is the only candidate with any endorsements from current governors or U.S. senators and representatives. And she has a boatload of them: 88 representatives, 27 senators and two governors have endorsed Clinton, giving her 243 endorsement points, the highest figure ever at this stage of the race for a Democrat.”

“Republicans, however, haven’t fallen in line behind anyone. Jeb Bush is the nominal endorsement front-runner, but his 18 endorsement points are the lowest total for any leader at this point in the campaign since Tsongas in 1992. Only two Republican governors and three Republican senators have endorsed any candidate at all. Endorsements also came slowly in the 2012 Republican nomination contest. As of June 17, 2011 — 200 days before the Iowa caucuses — Mitt Romney was the leader, but with only 19 endorsement points.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton

Trump Says Clinton Was His Favorite Recent President

June 17, 2015 at 4:06 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

Donald Trump (R) told Morning Joe that his favorite president of the last four is Bill Clinton, Politico reports.

Said Trump: “There was a little spirit. Frankly, had he not met Monica, had he not met Paula, had he not met various and sundry semi-beautiful women, he would have had a much better deal going.”

He added: “He was destroyed by that. He was really hurt very badly by it.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Donald Trump

Bill Clinton Will Stop Paid Speeches If Hillary Wins

June 10, 2015 at 3:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

Bill Clinton told Bloomberg he will likely not continue to give paid speeches if his wife Hillary were elected president.

Said Clinton: “No. I don’t think so. I don’t think that — because once you get to be president then you’re just making a daily story. I will still give speeches though on the subjects I’m interested in, and I’ve really enjoy those things.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton

How the Clintons Built a $2 Billion Global Empire

June 2, 2015 at 3:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

Washington Post: “Today, the Clinton Foundation is unlike anything else in the history of the nation and, perhaps, the world: It is a global philanthropic empire run by a former U.S. president and closely affiliated with a potential future president, with the audacious goal of solving some of the world’s most vexing problems by bringing together the wealthiest, glitziest and most powerful people from every part of the planet.”

“The evolution of the foundation, which began as a modest nonprofit focused largely on the ex-president’s library in Arkansas, is a nearly perfect reflection of the Clintons themselves. It was not designed as a master plan, but rather has grown, one brainstorm at a time, in accordance with the ambitious, loyal, restless and, often, scattered nature of its primary namesake… In the middle of it all is Bill Clinton, a new kind of post-presidential celebrity: a convener who wrangles rich people’s money for poor people’s problems. In the process, the foundation elevates the wealthy by giving them entrée to one of the nation’s most prominent political families.”

Filed Under: Clinton Legacy Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Clinton Foundation, Hillary Clinton

The Clintons Have a Romney Problem

May 27, 2015 at 9:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 44 Comments

First Read: “By itself, making money shouldn’t be an issue for Bill and Hillary Clinton; after all, so many of our past presidents have been wealthy. By itself, Bill Clinton having a shell LLC wouldn’t be an issue either. But when you add the two together, you see that the Clintons have a Mitt Romney problem on their hands — wealth and ‘otherness’ that voters might not be able to relate to, especially when the likes of Bernie Sanders are campaigning against wealth.”

“Of course, there’s one BIG difference between Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney: Romney wanted to cut taxes for the wealthy, while Hillary likely wants to raise them and eliminate tax loopholes benefitting the well-off. As the Clintons have said before, people like them should be paying more in taxes. And you probably won’t hear that rhetoric from the eventual GOP nominee. Still, Hillary Clinton could arguably be the wealthiest (or close to it) candidate in the 2016 field. And this shell LLC story is going to sound the drumbeats for her to release her taxes.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, Clinton Legacy Tagged With: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton

Best Tweet Response of the Day

May 18, 2015 at 6:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

Good question, @billclinton. The handle comes with the house. Know anyone interested in @FLOTUS?

— President Obama (@POTUS) May 18, 2015

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Bill Clinton

Tweet of the Day

May 18, 2015 at 4:40 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Welcome to @Twitter, @POTUS! One question: Does that username stay with the office? #askingforafriend

— Bill Clinton (@billclinton) May 18, 2015

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Bill Clinton

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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