From Elder Statesman to Partisan Pit Bull

Bill Clinton is earning some frank criticism these days. He was popular for most of his presidency, left office in shame, began re-earning more respect as a statesman (with efforts that included his collaboration with George H. Bush to help victims of Katrina), and is now losing the support of party leaders with his angry and bitter attacks on Barack Obama. In a year in which the Dems should easily win back the White House, the former president is threatening to turn the primary race into a bitter one that will leave whichever candidate survives in worse shape for the general election.

South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest ranking African American in Congress, told Bill Clinton to "chill a little bit." Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, an Obama supporter, took Bill to task for taking "glib cheap shots" that are "beneath the dignity of a former president." Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, criticized Bill's "fairy tale" comments by insisting, "this is reality, not fantasy or fairy tales." Ed Schultz, the nation's top liberal radio talk host, accused Bill of "lying about Barack Obama's record" and "embarrassing" the Democratic Party. Former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle criticized Bill's campaign performance as "Not presidential" and said Bill's actions could "destroy the party" if not stopped. And even former Clinton Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, got into the act, accusing bill of spearheading a "smear campaign against Obama."

In the most scathing criticism from the left, William Greider, national affairs correspondent for liberal political weekly The Nation, said, "The Clintons play dirty when they feel threatened... The recent roughing-up of Barack Obama was in the trademark style of the Clinton years in the White House. High-minded and self-important on the surface, smarmily duplicitous underneath, meanwhile jabbing hard to the groin area. They are a slippery pair and come as a package. The nation is at fair risk of getting them back in the White House for four more years. The thought makes me queasy."

The cause of all this criticism is that Bill is repeatedly accusing Obama of injecting race into the campaign, but it's apparent to anyone following the news that Bill's the guy who's doing it. Once lauded as the "first black president," Bill is destroying the trust and goodwill be built across the races.

For example, one of Bill's recent comments resulted in a shocked ABC News' Senior National Correspondent, sarcastically commenting, "Boy, I can't understand why anyone would think the Clintons are running a race-baiting campaign to paint Obama as 'the black candidate.'" The statement that caused this reaction was Bill's response to question asked about it taking "two Clintons to beat" Obama. Bill's response evoked a past black candidate in a way that seemed to have no relevance to the question but did seem aimed at painting Obama as a "black candidate." Said Bill: "Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here."

Over at CBSNews.com, senior political editor Vaughn Ververs is bemoaning Bill's "Lost legacy." Says Ververs, "By injecting himself into the Democratic primary campaign with a series of inflammatory and negative statements, Bill Clinton may have helped his wife's presidential hopes in the long term but at the cost of his reputation with a group of voters that have long been one of his strongest bases of political support."

What's interesting is that Bill's aggressive campaigning may have hurt his wife in South Carolina. Nearly six in 10 voters said the former president's efforts for his wife was important to their choice, but ironically among the people who said this, slightly more favored Obama than the former first lady.

And, it's possible Bill's actions are so alienating the Democratic leadership that he's weakening support for Hillary. There are reports today that Ted Kennedy will follow his niece, Caroline, and announce his support for Obama soon.

For the past seven years since Bill left office, I've defended him as a good and sound president and accused others of letting Bill's poor personal decisions cloud their judgment of him as a leader. I now feel as if I was the one who was wrong all along. Bill's nasty and inflammatory actions and words are leading me to believe that--at least in Bill's case--one cannot separate the personal from the professional, the human from the leader. For the Clinton's, it seems everything is political, and to them all's fair in politics and war.