Awwwwkwaaaard

Obama and Bill Clinton aren't very chummy:

The truth is that no real relationship exists between 42 and the would-be 44. A lunch in Harlem, sure. A few perfunctory phone calls, yeah. But that's about the extent of it.

People close to Clinton say that this baffles him, and pains him even more. And it's not hard to understand why. In Obama, he sees someone creating a new incarnation of the Democratic Party, one that has precious little to do with the version that Clinton fashioned. (Surveying the crowd last night, Clinton offered, "You've even got a few gray-headed white guys like me you haven't shut out my demographic yet.") He sees himself being eclipsed. If Obama demonstrated that he needs Clinton's counsel, everything between them would be different. But Obama manifestly doesn't believe he does, and he refuses to pretend otherwise. One late-night campaign appearance, however professionally executed, doesn't change that. Maybe occupying the Oval Office will.