(Image source: BarackObama.com )

 

BY JIM FLINK

 

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama will take center stage at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte come September.  WWMT-TV has details.

“.... we're learning new this morning that President Bill Clinton will play a prominent role at the Democratic National Convention. Sources say President Clinton will formally nominate President Barack Obama for re-election. The convention takes place in September ...”

Analysts note, with an election this tight, Democrats are going to the well to draw up their most popular icon. The Daily Beast notes:

“Get ready to party like it’s 1988, Democrats. … The Obama campaign hopes Clinton's presence and oratory skills will rally Democrats and voters across the nation.”

CNN reports the Obama campaign hopes Mr. Clinton will harken Americans back to better economic memories.

 

“The campaign believes Clinton can deliver a forceful fiscal message that it hopes can resonate especially with the middle class and is someone who can uniquely tout how he left the country with a surplus which was later erased by Republicans.”


When drawing a contrast with the GOP, The New York Times reports no one does it better than the former president. But, it notes, this relationship is, and always has been, a bit complicated.

“The address is intended to offer a strong contrast with the Republican ticket and will be closely watched, particularly given a string of blunt statements — and retractions — that Mr. Clinton has made this year when talking about the Obama administration. ... Mr. Clinton called for temporarily extending all of the tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, including the Bush-era rates, which put him at odds with the president.”

But this time, there won’t be any "at odds" in the works. This show will be about unity. Politico says, simply put, Mr. Obama needs Mr. Clinton if he’s to win key swing sectors of the vote.

"That Obama has been forced to rely on Clinton, who remains popular with swaths of the party such as white, working-class voters, donors and others has been established this cycle.  But the speech takes that fact to a different level, and is a reminder that Clinton, for all his miscues during his wife's presidential run and the current campaign, is still seen as leader of parts of the party."