Mitt Romney’s campaign is looking to raise doubts about Bill Clinton’s wholehearted endorsement of President Obama’s national security and economic leadership by pointing out a litany of past, mostly unrelated, disputes between Clinton and Obama from the 2008 Democratic primary.
“Last night, President Obama stood beside former President Clinton in an effort to validate his failed first term in office,” Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in an e-mail to reporters. “Conveniently, they failed to mention President Clinton’s prescient warnings that then-Senator Obama wasn’t ready for the presidency. We agreed with President Clinton then, and we still agree with those sentiments today.”
The e-mail mostly lists generic lowlights from the 2008 contests: Clinton calling Obama’s anti-war opposition a “fairy tale,” Obama responding that Clinton sometimes will “make statements that are not supported by the facts.” The most consistent theme is examples of Clinton saying Obama may be unprepared for the presidency, but, as TPM has reported in detail, it’s not clear how much traction the “inexperienced” angle can gain three years after Obama has already become president. Especially given that Clinton has clearly changed his mind on the topic after seeing him in action.
Correction: An earlier version of this post indicated that the Romney e-mail was in response to Clinton’s video praising Obama’s handling of the Osama Bin Laden mission. In fact, it was referring to a joint fundraiser in which Clinton offered a broad defense of Obama’s handling of the economy. TPM regrets the error.
