You’ve probably seen today the news that Bob Reich, political economist, author and former Clinton Labor Secretary, has endorsed Barack Obama. That’s an honorable and important endorsement. But I want to correct the misimpression some people seem to have that Bob’s endorsement is a defection or that Bob is a Clinton loyalist of any sort.
He’s not. I don’t have any deep insights into the relationship between Bob and the Clintons but since the late 90s he has been in what I would call polite opposition to the Clintons in the context of Democratic politics. Some of this was signaled in his 1998 memoir, Locked in the Cabinet. And just as much in his decision in 1999 to endorse Bill Bradley over Al Gore for the 2000 nomination.
Now the Clintons and Gores have their own issues. But at the time that endorsement was seen, I believe rightly, as part of his desire to turn the page from the Clinton years.
This is such a fraught time in Democratic politics. That it’s easy to have one’s meaning be misunderstood when noting even such a minor point as this. So to be clear, this is not a negative reflection on Obama or Clinton and certainly not Reich who I know and like. It is just to make the small point that this is not a case of someone close to the Clintons politically deciding to jump ship and go with Obama. If anything I would have been very surprised to see him endorsing Hillary.
