Dick Durban: Bill Clinton is Hurting

Last updated on August 11th, 2014 at 12:03 am

Sen. Dick Durban (D-IL) was on Fox News Sunday this morning, and he had some interesting comments about Democratic Party unity and Bill Clinton.

Host Chris Wallace asked Durban what it will take to get President Clinton to stop sulking. “Well, I can tell you, I think Bill Clinton is hurting. I’ll be honest with you. His wife did not prevail in the primary. He worked hard in it, was involved in some controversial statements. But trust me, when people judge Bill Clinton and his presidency, what it did for America in terms of building this economy and moving us forward, he’s going to do quite well. I believe before the end of the day he’s going to be an active supporter of the Obama campaign just as Hillary Clinton is today.”

I agree with Durban, in that, when push comes to shove Bill Clinton will be out on the campaign trail doing whatever is asked of him. A more relevant question may be how much the Obama campaign will want him to do, because President Clinton frequently demonstrated that he is a danger around live mic throughout the primary. His wife’s campaign had a terrible time trying to keep him on message and under control to the point where they took him out of the media spotlight, and sent him to the rural areas to campaign.

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This was a role that President Clinton embraced, and flourished in. In fact, much of Mrs. Clinton’s primary win in Pennsylvania can be attributed to the outstanding job President Clinton did campaigning in areas that the Obama campaign ignored. In fact, if I was Obama I would utilize him in the same role that he played in his wife’s campaign.

It is obvious that Bill Clinton is having trouble accepting the defeat of his wife, but all of the media talk about disgruntled Clinton supporters seems to be a conservative pipe dream. Polls consistently show that three quarters of Clinton supporters now support Obama. Bill Clinton may be harboring some hurt feelings, but this doesn’t translate to discord in the Democratic Party. At best, the idea of a rift among Democrats is Republican wishful thinking.

Transcript of the Dick Durban interview

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association