Clinton on McCain love-fest: "They'd put voters to sleep because they like and respect each other."

[calteacherguy]

If Hillary Clinton and John McCain become their party's presidential nominees, the general election race is likely to be a love-fest.

At least according to Bill Clinton.

Campaigning in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Friday, the former president brushed aside suggestions his wife would prove to be a divisive nominee for the Democratic Party, pointing out how she has successfully worked with Republicans in the Senate — including one of the current GOP presidential candidates.

"She and John McCain are very close," Clinton said. "They always laugh that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they're afraid they'd put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other."

<snip>

Sens. McCain and Clinton last met publicly at an ABC debate earlier January, when presidential candidates of both parties shared the same stage. The two were seen exchanging pleasantries, and a Clinton side said she told the Arizona senator he’d done a “good job” staging a comeback in New Hampshire. He asked that she say hello to Bill Clinton for him.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

[tularetom]

1. Let me get this straight - Bill can trash democratic contenders who oppose

Hillary but if and when she runs against a republican it's gonna be all lovey dovey?

Something very wrong with that picture.

[bellasgrams]

2. He will not throw the first stone. If Hillary is attacked he will

strike back. Just as he's had to do to Obama.

[ArfDogMNO]

5. clarification

"Just as he's had to do to Obama."

He didn't have to do anything. His wife is the one on the ballot, and she needs to handle this stuff herself rather than have a former president get involved. If she can't handle a little election fighting, how is she going to deal with the presidency itself? (actually, the answer is in our faces, she will let bill handle that too when it is rough)

Of course, bill is campaigning for a 3rd term as much as anything, so his motives are somewhat understandable.

[ArfDogMNO]

3. I think both candidates will do what it takes to win, but

presumably hillary will have Bill or other media outlets carry the bad-cop routine. The good-cop/bad-cop they are doing now is apparently having some results.

McCain is not in their league when it comes to this stuff, and given his horrid public persona, he might turn off enough GOP voters to let Clinton win despite her huge negatives.

[MBS]

4. yup, twisted indeed n/t

[AlinPA]

6. No way, they will be trashing each other as soon as it looks like one or the other

may win the nomination. I read where McCain said in a debate recently that she was "waving the white flag" in Iraq. Same old crap and dirty campaigning will be in full force. Next his ads will show her morphing into Bin Laden, the usual garbage.

Att'd is an example (McCain's filthy "joke" about Chelsea)
http://www.salon.com/news/1998/06/25newsb.html

[adapa]

7. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have an election based on Policy & Ideas?

If we could somehow skip all the swiftboating & smears in the general, America would be the winner.

I know this can't happen because there's to many rabid partisan extremenesses for this to be a possibility. But wouldn't it be nice?

[Kermit77]

8. Bill is trying to get the Repukes to NOT vote for McCain

I am surprised you all are falling for Bill's story. He is trying to depress McCain's support because he doesn't want to run against McCain in the fall. He knows that if he suggests that McCain and Hillary are "close" that will turn off the right wingers and they will vote for Mitt. He thinks that Mitt is more beatable.

Bill may be phoney and a liar but he is an expert politician.

He might just be setting up Obama for an easy general election and not even realize it.

GO Obama!