Opinion: Bill Clinton fails to heed his own advice

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Bill Clinton hasn’t been generating as many headlines of late as he did earlier this year -- probably a good thing for his wife’s presidential hopes. But he’s working as hard as ever on her behalf. Perhaps too hard.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported this morning that Clinton, during a private meeting Sunday with key California Democrats at the state party’s convention in San Jose, ignored what he moments later told the confab in public.

Reflecting on the intense presidential nomination battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Clinton in his speech urged fretful Democrats to ‘chill out’ and let the contest play out. But shortly before he spoke, Clinton lost his cool at a private gathering with a handful of pols who will be attending the party’s national convention as superdelegates.

Clinton blew a gasket, according to the Chronicle item, when one of the Californians mentioned the flap that erupted when Bill Richardson, despite strong ties to the ex-president, recently decided to endorse Obama and Clinton-loyalist James Carville responded by branding Richardson a ‘Judas.’

That set Clinton off on a wide-ranging diatribe, resulting in what one of those present called ‘one of the worst political meetings I have ever attended.’

Who knew Richardson would prove such a sore spot for the Clintonites? But fatigue, as we mentioned, may have been a factor in Bill Clinton’s reaction.

In typical fashion, the more some pundits have speculated that his wife’s hopes of emerging as the Democratic nominee are diminishing, the more ...

he has hit the hustings in states with primaries in April, May and early June.

Consider:

Last Thursday, he campaigned in five Pennsylvania communities, and then on Friday appeared at seven events in North Carolina. Saturday found him back in Pennsylvania for a couple of events before he had to head west.

On Sunday, after his drop-by at the California convention, he traveled to Oregon, where he stumped that evening and on Monday. Tuesday found him in Montana, where he made four appearances, and today he’s in Indiana for four more.

Time for a rest? No way.

Trips to Pennsylvania, Kentucky and North Carolina await him before the weekend.

-- Don Frederick