Bill Clinton predicts an easy win for Barack Obama

The Ticket opined two weeks ago that Barack Obama would be well-served to avail himself of Bill Clinton's manifold political skills -- pronto.

Today, the man who once dominated Democratic politics and the one who hopes to for years to come took a small step toward merging their interests: Obama trekked to Clinton's Harlem office in New York and had a lunch meeting with the former president.

During a brief chat with reporters before they went behind closed doors, Clinton at least delivered a sound bite favorable to Obama's cause.

With national polls showing John McCain catching a wave after his pick of Sarah Palin as a running mate, Clinton was asked about the state of the race. He replied: "I predict that Sen. Obama will win and win handily."

The perked up Obama, who said: "There you go. You can take it from the president of the United States. He knows a little something about politics."

Clinton, without specifying, said he's "agreed to do a substantial number of things" on behalf of Obama's campaign. "Whatever I’m asked to do," he added.

Most immediately, he'll stump for Obama on Sept. 29 in Florida (where, despite Clinton's optimistic spin, the Democratic ticket needs help; a new poll of the state's voters by Quinnipiac University gives McCain a solid lead).

The pool reporter for the photo op, Martha Moore of USA Today, noted that no handshake was exchanged between the men in the presence of the media.

After the get-together, an Obama aide issued the following statement:

President Clinton and Senator Obama had a great conversation in Harlem today. They discussed the campaign briefly, but mostly talked about how the world has changed since September 11, 2001.

Sen. Obama praised the work of the Clinton Foundation around the world and President Clinton applauded Sen. Obama's historic campaign which has inspired millions around the country.

They also spoke about what the next President can do to help make the economy work for all Americans, as it did under President Clinton, and ensure safety and prosperity far beyond the coming election. President Clinton said he looks forward to campaigning for Senator Obama later this month.

A Clinton aide told The Times' Peter Nicholas that along with the Florida appearance, the ex-president will raise money for Obama (apparently a growing source of concern within the candidate's camp) as well as hit the road for him "throughout the rest of the cycle.''

The aide said of the two-hour talk between the two: "It went very well.''

-- Don Frederick

Photo: Associated Press

Comments

[Alex]

Very funny! especially coming from a guy that said the exact same sentence 3 month ago about her wife and AGAINST obama!!! hahaha

[glen]

you ain't ever gonna win now mr mccain...go back to searching for your luck charms

[mn]

"NOT EXPERIENCED " quotes from Bill, Hillary and Biden--
What has changed since they said this a few months ago--NOTHING

[Blip]

I think this election is shaping up to be like Clinton's in some ways. The economy is once again in trouble. The public needs a real leader. And the GOP has made "culture wars" the center of its campaign. Even with all of the attention the McCain campaign has been getting with the announcement of his running mate... he has still failed to outline an agenda that would help middle class people. I like McCain... but Obama is at least talking about stuff that matters to me.

[Matt]

This presidential election is the most stressful I've ever seen, tying the one between Nixon and Kennedy back in 1960. Because imagining the Republicans to continue with their intellectually bankrupt plans to continue plundering America is like waiting for the results of a rectal cancer test. When this one's over, I'm going to bed for a week.

[Kevoh]

LMAO Clinton wants Obama to win about as much as McCain wants Obama to win. Hillary wont be able to run in the next election if Obama wins and he wont be able to get his skanky behind back in the Whitehouse either.

[Bobo4bush]

Sounds to me like Clinton and Obama just got together to smoke blunts. They're both way high!

[DemInMd]

Is this the same guy that predicted Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee??? Bill go shack up with one of your hooker friends.

[robin]

Pipe down Alex. Bill means that the party will win, whether it was going to be Hillary or Barack at the helm. And, MN, the snipey GOP rhetoric is empty. Just wait until the debates when each candidate can really show their stuff. The person that continues to take pot shots instead of talking substance will be the loser. I believe that loser will be McCain because just saying the other guy isn't qualified doesn't tell anyone anything about you. Also, the debates are often the turning point when many unsure voters make their decision. Deep breaths everyone.

[Greg]

mn....
"NOT EXPERIENCED " quotes from Bill, Hillary and Biden--
What has changed since they said this a few months ago--NOTHING"

You believed him then why not now? Since you put SO MUCH into what he said as being IT, then why not believe him now???

Palin and all the sexism crap will soon come to a close.
Guaranteed. The only reason it won't is because a certain group of people would be afraid to admit they were wrong and mislead yet again, by the republicans.

[troy]

watch your back Barack, Bill want you to lose so Hillary can run in 4yrs. And reclaim his legacy. Rember what everyone said about the Clintons, if they want you gone they get really chummy

[Chris Hattasch]

This will be a tough fight for Barak Obama and Joe Biden; they must not loose focus that the election is against 4 more years of George Bush and focus on the actual changes that will be made. Governor Palin is a sharp individual and a great asset to the "State of Alaska"; however, the deceptive resume' and comments from those that worked with her in the past tell of an all too familiar similarity to George Bush and Karl Rove.

[Calculator]

Yeah, if we can't even trust a man's word about what he knows, we're really going to put a lot of stock in what he predicts.

[LaRae]

As a Christian, It truly concerns me that so many other Christians are still falling for Republican manipulation tactics. Please consider everything carefully before you vote in November.

This is a very interesting read concerning McCain's choice of Palin from an unusual and surprising religious perspective. I highly recommend checking it out - and send it to those you think need to hear it:

http://www.newsflavor.com/Opinions/McCain-Hijacks-Christianity-Via-Palin.240929

[Kick]

John McCain will win easily.

[toby]

The report said the poll saw McCain ahead in Florida.

But the Democrats have registered 400,000 new Florida voters in the last six months, and these are too recent to be included in the lists used by the polling companies.

That being said, we know the Republicans are busy trying to de-register as many Democrat voters as possible so as to steal this election too.

We will see if Charlie Crist has a smidgen of integrity and doesn't pull the tricks of Jeb Bush by (for example) ensuring there are insufficient polling booths or voitng machines in black areas to capture all the votes within a single day.

This election could end up in the House, or the Supreme Court again! If the second one happens, the USA will be a laughing stock and compared to Zimbabwe.

[Pete Gitta]

Bill's lying again

[JDHall]

Hey Blip,

So I'm not sure what you are watching or reading but I have heard Sen. McCain speak about his ecconomic plan and how he will help reinvigorate the middle class several times.

I remember watching Laryy King after each night of the Republican Convention and the Obama Campaign official just kept saying that none of the Republican speakers were mentioning the ecconomy, including Palin and McCain. I'm not sure what Convention he was watching because I heard several of the speakers mention the ecconomy. I think he was just hoping that if he said something enough times, people would just believe it.

Please evryone, don't just lap up what the campaigns tell you. Do some non-partisan research. I have found factcheck.org to be a great source of info. Both canidates are streaching the truth in ads and quoting the opposition out of context...it's really sad.

For instance, Obama likes to say that McCain voted along party lines 90% of the time. This is true. But he fails to mention that he has voted along party lines 97% of the time. On the other hand, the McCain campaign keeps demanding an appology for the "pig in lipstick" comment Obama made. I heard it and I don't think for even a fraction of a second he was talking about Palin.

Do your own research everyone. Then vote the canidate that best represents you. Just for the record, I am a regestered independant who happens to think McCain is better suited for the Presidency this time around. But if Obama wins, he will still be my President and have my support.

[Betsy in Florida]

OMG. BHO AND C. THIS IS OH,SOOOOO PATHETIC!

BARRY GET A FREAKING LIFE, OKAY?

WHERE WAS YOUR WIFE TODAY FOR GOD'S SAKE?

DOING ANOUTHER TV SHOW?

DON'T GO AWAY MAD, JUST GO AWAY!

MCCAIN&PALIN LOVE AMERICA

[PFJ]

RIght on! GO Obama!

[hinnis]

I AGREE WITH JOE BIDEN. ----------------

On Obama's appeal: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean that's a storybook, man." -----------------------

On Obama's experience: "I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training." ---------------------------

On Obama's threat to go into Pakistan after Al Qaeda: "The way to deal with it is not to announce it, it's to do it.... The last thing you want to do is telegraph to the folks in Pakistan that we're about to violate ... their sovereignty." ---------------------

On Obama's pledge to meet with leaders of rogue nations: "Would I make a blanket commitment to meet unconditionally with the leaders of each of those countries within the first year I was president? Absolutely, positively no." -------------------

On Obama's Iraq plan: "My impression is he thinks that if we leave, somehow the Iraqis are going to have an epiphany. I've seen zero evidence of that." ------------------

I ALSO AGREE WITH HILLARY CLINTON: ------------------------
"I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House and Senator Obama has a speech that he gave in 2002." --------------------------
"More than ever before, our workers will need good job training for the jobs of this new century. But we can't afford on-the-job training for our next president. That could be the costliest job training in history." --------------------------------
"And we don't need Obama’s trillion-dollar tax increase that will hit families already facing higher energy, health care and college costs. What we need is to focus on the real crises of health care and Medicare, and on expanding opportunities for poor, working and middle class families who are struggling now." ----------------------------------
AND BILL CLINTON: ------------------------
It is wrong that Senator Obama got to go through 15 debates trumpeting his superior judgment and how he had been against the war in every year, numerating the years, and never got asked one time, not once, ‘Well, how could you say, that when you said in 2004 you didn’t know how you would have voted on the resolution? You said in 2004 there was no difference between you and George Bush on the war and you took that speech you’re now running on off your website in 2004 and there’s no difference in your voting record and Hillary’s ever since?’ Give me a break. “This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen.” ---------------------------------
"I think that they (Obama) played the race card on me. And we now know, from memos from the campaign and everything that they planned to do it all along."

[Bob Loblaw]

I agree with Bill Clinton on the outcome of the election. The public and the news media only operate in the short-term, where Palin has given McCain some sort of half-contrived "bounce" in meaningless polls. However, when you look at the long term, there is no way this guy McCain can win -- he's Bob Dole all over again. After 50 more days of late night comics mocking him, lousy campaign ads, and three debates highlighting his frailty and skeleton-like physique, the masses are not going to vote for him. Too bad for him, maybe 10 years ago he could have done better.

[Pamela]

How is King Obama going to pay for your universal healthcare? and all your hand-outs...taxing you, not just the wealthy. Read his tax reforms, and kiss your retirement goodbye. How about a 39% tax on your IRA, or any college fund, etc. 28% tax on any profit if you sell your home. He is going to reinstate the inheritance tax. Man, Is that what everyone wants?? I don't.

[cali creole]

I read an article that we are once again the laughing stock of the world over our election, We have got to be the only place that allows politicians to bring trivial things like "lip stick on a pig" effect our decisions instead of what the canidates are bringing to the table, i dont know about the rest of you but im tired of the propaganda machine and would jsut like to hear what the next president is going to do to fix the situations for most people. #1 being 6% unemployed and unable to find work, with so many people out of work how do they expect to get there pay checks that are paid for with tax dollars from working Americans. Now is no tthe time for blind party affiliation. Please vote wiht your brains this time people! Had Ron Paul recieved the republican nomination i would breath easy feeling a no lose situation but with McCain Im scared for the future of this country and for my children

[P.S. Burton]

Not only is William Jefferson Clinton correct in his political observation as to the anticipated outcome of the Presidential race.
I think republicans will sorely regret having redirected resources they had been focusing in an effort to sandbag vulnerable downstream house and senate seats.