Paul Krugman weighs in on Obama's wishful post-partisan narrative or the absurd argument that Hillary and Bill Clinton are to blame for the culture war:
It’s starting to feel a bit like 1992 again. A Bush is in the White House, the economy is a mess, and there’s a candidate who, in the view of a number of observers, is running on a message of hope, of moving past partisan differences, that resembles Bill Clinton’s campaign 16 years ago.
Now, I’m not sure that’s a fair characterization of the 1992 Clinton campaign, which had a strong streak of populism, beginning with a speech in which Mr. Clinton described the 1980s as a “gilded age of greed.” Still, to the extent that Barack Obama 2008 does sound like Bill Clinton 1992, here’s my question: Has everyone forgotten what happened after the 1992 election?
Let’s review the sad tale, starting with the politics. Whatever hopes people might have had that Mr. Clinton would usher in a new era of national unity were quickly dashed. Within just a few months the country was wracked by the bitter partisanship Mr. Obama has decried.
This bitter partisanship wasn’t the result of anything the Clintons did. Instead, from Day 1 they faced an all-out assault from conservatives determined to use any means at hand to discredit a Democratic president. . .
[T]hose who don’t want to nominate Hillary Clinton because they don’t want to return to the nastiness of the 1990s . . are deluding themselves. Read more
Hillary Clinton Gender Barack Obama News Democratic Paul Krugman Politics Bill Clinton Culture War 1990s Post-Partisan Narrative
