Clinton Kremlinology

It is hard to know for sure whether advisers to Hillary Clinton -- heck, Sen. Clinton herself -- is happy that the attention of the press corps is focused on her husband.

The New York Times's Healy, who has excellent sources in Hillaryland, writes that the brain trust has concluded that "aggressive politicking against Senator Barack Obama is resonating with voters, and they intend to keep him on the campaign trail in a major role after the South Carolina primary."

To the extent that Bill's focus keeps the press's focus on Obama's qualifications and forces Obama to spend time defending his record, the former president's participation is an unalloyed good. And certainly, the more Democrats he sees in person, the better. Core Democrats love him.

But what's not helpful -- and what is worrying some Clinton advisers -- is Clinton's habit, his itch, to revert to a habit of the partisan wars of his presidency -- he blames the media for everything and casts himself as the victim. (Classic Clinton self-pity is how Maureen Dowd put it.)



To Obama advisers, the video selection above is, in and of itself, an argument for Obama's candidacy. More of that?

But can anyone tell Bill Clinton that, even if he is right on the merits -- he has to simmer down? Is Sen. Clinton herself aware of the uniformly negative coverage that her husband's outbursts have generated? Remember: Bill Clinton helped to drive his wife off message in Iowa, too.