The Complicated Legacy of Bill Clinton

Aug. 23, 2007 — -- President Bill Clinton is his wife's not-so-secret weapon -- the single most popular Democrat on the planet, a campaigner who ranks with the all-time greats, and one of the best political minds in the country.

But, as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., is learning every week, his legacy can be a mixed blessing -- a reminder of peace, prosperity and Democratic victories, but also of scandal, gridlock and "triangulation" that frustrated many liberals.

On the campaign trail Thursday, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards delivered a speech filled with coded language aimed at reminding Democratic voters of the less-than-pleasant aspects of the Clinton administration.

"The American people deserve to know that their presidency is not for sale, the Lincoln bedroom is not for rent, and lobbyist money can no longer influence policy in the House or the Senate," Edwards said in Hanover, N.H., in a not-so-subtle reference to a famous fundraising scandal.

"The trouble with nostalgia is that you tend to remember what you liked and forget what you didn't," Edwards continued. "It's not just that the answers of the past aren't up to the job today -- it's that the system that produced them was corrupt."

The Clinton campaign dismissed the thinly veiled swipes as a ploy by a desperate candidate.

"Running against Bill Clinton isn't going to improve Mr. Edwards' flagging campaign," said Howard Wolfson, a Clinton campaign spokesman.

"Bill Clinton was a great president, and his presidency made America a better place," said Wolfson.

But it's not the first time that Clinton has been confronted with aspects of her husband's presidency that many Democrats view unfavorably. At recent presidential forums, she's faced pointed questions about the failure of her health care plan, her husband's support of NAFTA -- which is loathed by labor groups -- and Bill Clinton's decision to sign the Defense of Marriage Act, which many gays and lesbians consider an affront to equal rights.

In several areas, Clinton has distanced herself from steps taken under her husband's administration. She has vowed to support a partial repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, for instance. She has also expressed disappointment in NAFTA, and said she would rescind the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.