Is Former President Clinton Stealing the Spotlight?

Jan. 24, 2008— -- A few days before South Carolina's Democratic primary, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has been in and out of the Palmetto State, leaving some of the campaigning up to her husband.

While Bill Clinton is popular there, his headline-making scuffles with reporters, and tendency to talk about himself, rather than his wife, have some wondering whether he is hurting more than helping.

The former president has been tirelessly campaigning on behalf of his wife since he arrived in South Carolina yesterday. He attended three different events, ending the last one around 11:30 p.m., almost 12 hours after he landed in the state.

After little sleep (rumor has it that he was playing cards until 3:30 a.m.) he started again this morning at 8:30 a.m. Though he looked tired, he didn't miss a beat.

At a campaign event this morning, Clinton defended his wife's six-year tenure on Wal-Mart's board of directors, saying that she advocated for more environmentally friendly practices, as well as more American-based production.

He went on to praise his wife's work on the board, but couldn't help talking about himself.

"The reason I know all this stuff, is that this is what I do now," he said. "I try to figure out how to reduce greenhouse gases and create jobs."

It's become an emerging theme in his campaign events: Bill Clinton starts out talking about Hillary Clinton, and what she can do in the White House, then slowly slips in a "we," and then an "I," talking about his accomplishments as both president and foundation leader.

When asked a question about how Hillary would combat rural poverty, in a campaign event in Orangeburg, he started with what he had accomplished.

"First, let me say I want to claim some credibility on this — when I was president, we moved almost 8 million [people] from poverty to the middle class," Clinton said, adding, "This is a big priority for me, for our family."