Former President Bill Clinton delighted his Harvard audience on Class Day Wednesday in Cambridge. Clinton addressed the graduating seniors of the Harvard Class of 2007, a day before the university held its commencement. And he alluded to his wife Hillary's presidential campaign.

"And I think women should run everything," Clinton told the crowd.

Harvard has chosen Drew Gilpin Faust as its first female president. Will U.S. voters choose Clinton's wife as the nation's first female president in 2008?

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I'm not one of those people who blame Ralph Nader for the Bush presidency. It wasn't Nader's fault the margin got so tiny in Florida and Bush was able to sneak away with it. It wasAl Gore's fault. The man was vice president under one of the most popular presidents of the modern era. If Gore had run a halfway competent campaign in 2000 he should have easily been able trounce by double digits an entitled upstart Texas governor.

All Gore had to do was embrace Bill Clinton. Say, "Yeah, I know he was flawed. But 65 percent of you love him, or at least approve of the job he's done. So vote for me and let's continue the success." (How do you think the milquetoast George H.W. got elected in '88? By running on Reagan's legacy, of course.)

Hillary Clinton is not going to make the same mistake Gore did. In New Hampshire last weekend she was all about Bill:

Mrs. Clinton, Democrat of New York, mentioned Mr. Clinton at least eight times on Saturday - at one point talking about "Bill's heart surgery" to illuminate her own travails with health care bureaucracy - and a few times on Sunday, most memorably when she said of Republicans, "Bill and I have beaten them before, and we will again."

For the first time in her bid for the White House, Mrs. Clinton directly laid claim to the legacy and popularity of former President Bill Clinton - and did so in a crucial primary state where her husband showed his resiliency in 1992, when he finished second despite weeks of troubles.

Even the Bill Clinton haters admit that his charisma can be a serious weapon on the campaign trail. As this race heats up, look for a grinning Bill to start appearing by his wife's side with increasing regularity.

With the shining hypocrisy and chutzpah that we would expect from a Clinton, Bill says his pardons were totally different. From the NYT (sub required):

In Iowa to promote the presidential candidacy of his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Mr. Clinton was asked by a radio host, David Yepsen, "You had some controversial pardons during your presidency; what's your reaction to what President Bush did?"

"Yeah, but I think the facts were different," Mr. Clinton said. "I think there are guidelines for what happens when somebody is convicted. You've got to understand, this is consistent with their philosophy; they believe that they should be able to do what they want to do, and that the law is a minor obstacle."

"It's wrong to out that C.I.A. agent and wrong to try to cover it up," Mr. Clinton added. "And no one was ever fired from the White House for doing it."

Wow, that's pretty bold coming from Mr. "I did not have sex with that woman." Apparently in Bill's world, the power of the pardon is appropriate for campaign contributors, but not appropriate to reduce a sentence to be more in line with the punishment for stealing top secret documents.

ABC's The Note is always an interesting read, and this morning it is no different. Rick Klein starts today's edition with the following:

Everyone hear that? That was the $32.5 million sound of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's inevitability melting away in the summer heat. Clinton aides can talk about polls, endorsements, and even trot out (as they are today) the single most popular Democrat on the planet, but that ignores the inconvenient fact that no actual human being has technically voted yet. As for some other measurements -- energy, enthusiasm, and (of course) financing, the edge at this mid-year moment belongs to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

ABC's political reporting comes from a consistently left-of center angle, so I feel comfortable that the Democratic intelligentsia is overwhelmingly looking at this moment as being a "Bill rides to the rescue of Hillary" moment. The point of the piece is to set up Bill Clinton's return to the presidential campaign stage for his wife this evening at 8:30pm at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Ostensibly, one of Bill's duties this evening will be to help stop the Obama Juggernaut before it starts to effect Hillary's poll positions.

As I listened to talk shows and read the paper, it is clear that Hillary Clinton has an excellent chance to get the presidential nomination. I am not one of those believers. However, I am hearing that Bill Clinton could be a problem for her. In fact, one conservative talk show host agreed with a caller who suggested that Hillary might select Bill as the vice president. Problem with that line of thinking is that the Constitution prevents it. A vice president is subject to the same qualifications and restrictions that the president is. In other words, since Bill has served two terms, he cannot run for president or vice president.

Many conservatives think they can scare the voters by bringing up the name of Clinton and associating him with Hillary. I believe that he is her strength. Al Gore never saw that. He distanced himself from Bill Clinton and took opposition positions. Was he right? He lost. I don't care how close he came, he lost.

In 1982, the Republicans took on an old, fat guy and made him the whipping boy. It was a mistake. People loved Tip O'Neil and the Democrats prevailed in that election. They are mistaken if they take on Bill Clinton. He is supported by the vocal majority.

Former President Bill Clinton is getting paid extremely well for speaking. (Try to remember that there were some who would have paid him to stop speaking at some Democratic events when he was president.) Last week, Rudy Giuliani decided to stop receiving payment for speaking because he was officially announcing for president. Rudy was making $100,000 for his speeches but he asked the Federal Election Commission for a ruling on a payment that was still due him since he was not an official candidate.

"Presidential candidates who are not federal officeholders are allowed to take money for speeches, as long as they are not raising campaign money at the event, distributing campaign material or delivering an overtly political speech."

Now, back to Bill Clinton. He is receiving up to $650,000 per speech. Pretty nice. Why would he ever want to hold a federal office again? However, I do have a problem: Hillary Clinton is an officeholder. And a presidential hopeful.

Years ago, the Republican Party decided to use Tip O'Neill as a target in attacking the Democratic Party. It didn't work. They didn't realize that he was a lovable figure who people liked regardless of what party they belonged. Tip and Ronald Reagan became friends. Both enjoyed people and politics.

Recently, Christopher Weber wrote in an AOL blog, that Hillary referenced Bill Clinton's name eight times in her speech. Make no mistake, Hillary follows the polls. She doesn't lead. For that reason, she will be hard to beat.

You might ask, why would anybody use the name of a president who was impeached? A person who has acknowledged that he had a sexual episode with an intern? Recently, the answer was given in a Gallup Poll. The poll concluded that 60% of Americans have a favorable opinion of Bill Clinton. This rating is only exceeded by his 66% rating in 1993. Anybody who has ever been in the presence of Bill Clinton knows that when he speaks you get the feeling that he really cares about you and wants to resolve your problems. Al Gore just never realized that he could have won if he had just swallowed hard and embraced Bill. Now, Al is left to global warming.

If Hillary wins, it will be because this is the only way the Constitution will allow Bill Clinton back in the White House. Yes folks, he is limited to only two terms and the vice president must qualify to be president in order to qualify as vice president.

Well, Hillary Clinton certainly isn't going to make the mistake that may have cost Al Gore the 2000 election. Granted, it would be a tad trickier to distance herself from her husband's legacy than it was for Gore, but she seems convinced that the opposite strategy is the way to go. While stumping for votes in Iowa today she made it clear that Bill would be put to work should she be elected:

"I can't think of a better cheerleader for America than Bill Clinton, can you?" the Democratic senator from new York asked a crowd jammed into a junior high school gymnasium. "He has said he would do anything I asked him to do. I would put him to work."

Rudy Giuliani recently floated the idea that his wife, Judy, would sit in on cabinet meetings, only to quickly rescind the notion after facing a public outcry. But Bill is old hat at the doings of the Executive Branch. Hillary's idea is to keep him out of the White House, flying around the world, mending all the fences that the current Bush administration has kicked and broken over the past 6 years. Call it the return of the Clinton twofer. Sure to infuriate or delight, depending on your orientation. Then again, given all the money and goodwill that Bill and George H.W. Bush drummed up after the Asian tsunami, maybe this notion of a traveling Billbury isn't so controversial after all.
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Previously on 'The Stump':
- Rutgers Team Disses Hillary
- More Signs of Hillary Vulnerability
- Poll: Obama Within Two Points of Clinton

Make that the first First Gentleman.
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My oh my, you can almost hear the rage simmering beneath the scalps of some conservatives. As a stay-at-home father, however, I can relate to the quandary that befalls a man when traditional roles are reversed. Just like Bill, when my wife took over the duties of primary bread-winner, I too, had to abandon the multi-million dollar a year lecture circuit.

"I hope I will have enough saved by then, if she is elected, that we can just, you know, pay our bills and--I'd like to keep our two homes, our home in Washington, and our home in Chappaqua," Mr. Clinton added. "And otherwise, I'd like to devote whatever time she wants to whatever she wants me to do, and I should be able to have probably two to three days a week to do in the foundation. I certainly hope so."

But the personal pay cut is only one of the indignities that awaits Mr. Clinton should his wife be elected commander-in-chief. Take it from me, Bill, suddenly you're going to be expected to do more dishes, and fold laundry. When your wife returns from a hard day at the office, she's going to give you that look and ask, "What did you do all day?" One word of advice, if I may, Mr. First Gentleman, beware the internet. It can really suck you in, whole hours of your day will disappear, and then, then next thing you know, it's 4:30 and you still haven't gotten out to get the milk.

Bubba to the rescue? asks Kimberly Atkins at the Boston Herald, on former President Bill Clinton stumping for Deval Patrick.

Democratic pundits say today's Hub visit by former President Bill Clinton is money in the bank for Deval Patrick, but Republicans say Clinton's good for the cash and nothing else.

"Deval can bring in Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, and it won't get him one more vote," said Republican strategist Charlie Manning.

"If I were in Deval Patrick's camp, I'd lock up all the cute interns."

Democrats say the scandals and impeachment trial that dominated headlines during Clinton's tenure in the White House won't dim the spark he can bring to help Patrick regain momentum. That's critically important now that Patrick's seemingly insurmountable lead in the polls has shrunk enough to keep Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey competitive.

"Bill Clinton is a rock star in Massachusetts," said Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh. "He always has been and he always will be. He's going to rally the Democratic faithful up on their feet (and) he'll certainly help raise a lot of money."

I don't see Deval Patrick's supposed "outsider" image being helped by Clinton's visit, but then again, we know well enough that Deval Patrick is no "outsider."

Clinton will be making a total of two visits to the Commonwealth for Deval Patrick, the Herald notes. The last Democratic candidate for governor for whom Clinton made two visits for was Shannon O'Brien, who lost to Mitt Romney in 2002.

The Healey campaign also doesn't see Clinton's visit as particularly helpful for Patrick.

Tonight's fund-raiser at the Westin Copley Place Hotel is expected to net $1 million for the state Democratic Party to use to help Patrick's cause, party officials said. But Republicans said it won't turn voters on to Patrick.

"Now that Deval Patrick has tapped out on his insider connections in Massachusetts, he's going national to the Democrats' ultimate insider: Bill Clinton," said Laura Nicoll, campaign spokeswoman for Healey.

Clinton will only energize those fringe left wing liberals...that's all.

AOL News:

If Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton runs for the White House in 2008 as expected, her biggest strategic decision will be how to use one of her most powerful campaign resources -- her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Hardly the typical political spouse, the former president is a magnetic presence on the stump, with well-honed instincts and fund-raising abilities. He knows the pitfalls of a campaign and can easily rouse the Democratic faithful to action.

It's a problem alright. Al Gore had it right in 2000. He wanted Bill Clinton nowhere near his campaign and that turned out to be a good call. Hillary has it much worse. She's actually married to the guy. Tough to separate herself from him, but she should try.

Elizabeth Edwards has joined Bill Clinton as a spouse of a candidate who can effectively advocate for their partner.

Some spouses take a background role, others (Bill Clinton) love the limelight; still others take public stances when it seems necessary, as appears to be the case with Elizabeth Edwards confronting Ann Coulter.

John Edwards is lucky to have a spouse who, despite the difficulty of battling cancer, is willing to defend him in a public forum, against such a foe, and in such a measured manner.

Voters like such steadfastness; even though Hillary Clinton slammed Tammy Wynette while standing up for her husband during his 1992 presidential campaign, I think American voters liked seeing the future first lady defend Bill Clinton against early allegations. I think voters will have a similarly high regard for Elizabeth Edwards' recent courage.

It's clear now that Bill will go the distance to put his wife in the White House:

Bill Clinton's connections, and his endless supply of chits, only begin to capture his singular role in his wife's presidential candidacy, advisers and friends of the couple say. He is the master strategist behind the scenes; the consigliere to the head of "the family," as some Clinton aides refer to her operation; and a fund-raising machine who is steadily pulling in $100,000 or more at receptions.

So far, his roles have unfolded in private as he provides ideas to his wife and makes sure she paces herself, and as he acts as something of a field general with donors, instructing them on how to talk up Mrs. Clinton. Eventually, though, he will go public in a big way: Clinton advisers can already imagine a point in 2008 when Mr. Clinton has his own campaign plane, press corps and schedule of events in crucial states while Mrs. Clinton is barnstorming in others.

The interesting question is whether Bill Clinton would have won in 2000 had he been able to run for a third time. Those who say "yes" think it was a mistake for Al Gore to sideline him. Those who say "no" think Al Gore was right to sideline him but went too far in supporting him during the impeachment scandal and fatally wounded himself.
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Hillary Clinton wants to have it both ways. She wants to use her experience in the White House as the most politically active first lady in history as proof that she has what it takes to be president. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but she also wants to sweep all the bad under the rug and has gone on notice that she will not abide her competitors bringing up the impeachment of her husband:

"In the end, voters will decide what's off-limits, but I can't imagine that the public will reward the politics of personal destruction," senior Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson said Friday, when asked whether the impeachment is fair game for Clinton's opponents. Earlier in the week, Wolfson dismissed references to President Bill Clinton's conduct as "under the belt."

This is pretty slick politics here; Hillary goes on the offensive and the news dutifully reports hat she will view any talk of the impeachment as hitting "under the belt." Yet it is the 900-pound gorilla in the room. Hillary was a very large presence in the Clinton White House by all accounts. She was as much a part of his inner circle as Karl Rove is in W's Oval Office. By attempting to take the impeachment off the table, she is trying to take credit for the good while neglecting the bad. You can't have it both ways.

Bill Clinton was one of only two presidents ever impeached. He was not impeached because he had sexual relations with "that woman, Miss Lewinsky." He was impeached for lying to a grand jury and was furthered stained because he lied directly to the American people. This is a significant part of the Clintons' past and is absolutely fair game during the campaign, regardless of what Hillary's people say about it. It's not right to blame a son for the sins of the father or in this case the wife for the sins of the husband. But Hillary was a major part of the administration and thus all things done by that administration -- both good and bad -- are on the table.

As I've said previously, Clinton's campaign to this point has not been run very well. This won't help things.

There's a very interesting article this morning over at the Los Angeles Times, Clinton's first lady records locked up, referring to the plethora of Hillary Clinton-related documents archived at the Clinton Presidential Library.

Much of Hillary's campaign rhetoric is based on the fact that she has the most experience, and that she's "been there" before. At times during the campaign, Hillary even alludes back to Bill Clinton's pre-2002 description of her role in his administration were he to get elected: "two for the price of one." Since it's obvious that on most days she wants to give the impression that her husband's term was a co-presidency, records showing her involvement in Bill's administration should be a valuable tool in assessing if she'd be a competent president herself. But it looks as if the voters won't be seeing them, until at least after the election in 2008. Why? Because they could be embarrassing to her campaign.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton cites her experience as a compelling reason voters should make her president, but nearly 2 million pages of documents covering her White House years are locked up in a building here, obscuring a large swath of her record as first lady. Clinton's calendars, appointment logs and memos are stored at her husband's presidential library, in the custody of federal archivists who do not expect them to be released until after the 2008 presidential election.