Opinion: Bill Clinton grabs the spotlight

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Perhaps Bill Clinton himself will provide the coda to the flap he sparked this week when, during a speech for his wife in Iowa, he asserted that he opposed the Iraq war ‘from the beginning.’

Perhaps he’ll remind us it all depends on what the definition of ‘from the beginning’ is.

As it is, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has seen precious attention focused more on something her husband said instead of on her own campaign’s message.

The former president made his comment Tuesday, and it quickly caused headaches for Camp Clinton. The initial Associated Press story said he was ‘showing inconsistency on an issue that has dogged his wife.’ The New York Times article termed the statement ‘more absolute than his comments before the invasion in March 2003.’ The Washington Post wrote that Clinton was ‘glossing over the more nuanced views of the war he has expressed over time.’

In case anyone missed the point, the Post today reported that, according to an ex-aide to Condoleezza Rice, Clinton ‘was privately briefed by top White House officials about war planning in 2003 and that he told them he supported the invasion.’

The New York Post, in the best tradition of tabloids, cut to the chase with this headline on its story today: BILL’S BULL ON IRAQ TRIGGERS RIDICULE.

The best -- and broadest -- perspective came from the AP’s Ron Fournier, who used the remark about the Iraq war to reflect upon the ‘Good Bill’ and the ‘Bad Bill.’

Wrote Fournier: ‘As only he can do, Bill Clinton packed campaign venues across eastern Iowa and awed Democratic voters with a compelling case for his wife’s candidacy. He was unscripted, in-depth and generous.

‘He also was long-winded, misleading and self-absorbed,’ the Associated Press reporter wrote.

When Bill was the family politician seeking votes, Hillary was a key part of the package. We’ve gotten an obvious reminder now of how true the reverse is.

-- Don Frederick