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Mr. Clinton Questions Obama's Experience

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December 14, 2007 7:07 PM

ABC News' Teddy Davis and Nancy Flores Report: Bill Clinton called Barack Obama's experience into question during a Friday interview with Charlie Rose.

Drawing an analogy to his own life, the former President said that in 1988 he knew that he had enough talent to be elected president but that he knew that he was not ready for the job.

"When I was a governor and young and thought I was the best politician in the Democratic Party, I didn't run the first time. I could have," said Clinton referring to 1988. "I knew in my bones I shouldn't run."

His wife locked in a tight battle in Iowa and New Hampshire but continuing to hold a 2-1 advantage nationwide, Mr. Clinton added, "I was a good enough politician to win, but I didn't think I was ready to be president."

Clinton warned that Obama's supporters like him because he has never made a mistake.

"If you listen to the people who are most strongly for him," Clinton said, "they say basically we have to throw away all these experienced people because they have been through the wars of the '90s, and they made enough decisions and enough calls that they made a few mistakes."

While Clinton calls Obama a symbol of change, he doesn't think he is ready to be an effective agent of change.

Asked if a vote for Obama is a roll of the dice, Clinton retorts, "It's less predictable, isn't it? I mean when is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service in the Senate before he started."

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December 14, 2007 in Bush, George W., Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (88)

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Hillary's got great experience.

She was put in charge of health care with a democratic president, democratic congress, and with polls showing 80% support for universal health care. Yet she managed to fail - very impressive.

And the seminal vote of her Senate career Great.

What a record.

It's all just slipping away....

Posted by: JWT | Dec 14, 2007 7:30:27 PM

Nice try, Mr. President, but I am not buying it. Obama's had good judgment throughout his entire elected career, and I'm not gambling on anything, I know I've made the right choice!! I will caucus for Barack Obama on Jan.3rd, a day that will go down in history........

Posted by: Jean | Dec 14, 2007 8:06:28 PM

Hillary keeps talking about her experience. What experience? She's never been a chief executive in government or business. Yes, its true that Bill put her in charge of heath care reform as First Lady, but it wasn't even a paid position (that I'm aware of). Moreover, it was such a huge failure that in large part it cost the Democrats the house and senate in the 1994 elections.

Other than that, what executive experience does Hillary have? Are we now concluding that First Lady qualifies one for the presidency? If that's the case, I guess Laura and Barbara Bush are equally qualified.

With absolutely no previous experience as an elected official, Hillary ran on Bill's coattails for senate in New York as a carpet bagger (she had never lived in New York prior to running). Now she's trying the same trick with the presidency.

Any talk of Hillary's experience is a complete charade. Or at a minimum, Hillary's attempt to superimpose Bill's experience onto her own resume.

Posted by: Tom | Dec 14, 2007 8:09:34 PM

Barack has been an elected official of the United States for 11 years. Hillary has only been one for 7 years. Enough said!!

Posted by: Michael from IOWA | Dec 14, 2007 8:15:04 PM

I agree with Mr. Clinton. First, I think he is much to young and immature to be president. Second, he doesn't have the experience behind him. He is a really nice guy and I like him. But I just don't think he is ready for the tremendous responsibility of being head of this country.

Posted by: veronica | Dec 14, 2007 8:16:56 PM

Come on Bill. You can't have it both ways. Hillary is speaking about the past drug use of Obama and other possible "surprises" that might await us if he is elected, and here you are saying Obama has not been around long enough to make any mistakes. Which one is it, or don't you consider drug use to be a mistake because you were a user too.

In 1988, Bill, you were 42. In 1992, when you ran and won the presidency, you were 46, the same age as Obama is now. If Obama is following in your footsteps, now is the perfect time for him to run for president.

Posted by: Jay VA | Dec 14, 2007 8:25:44 PM

Bill, I must tell you experience matters, but there is the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience. Barack Obama has the right kind of experience at this time of History, at this moment.

If we were to vote for people based on experience then Billy you should not have been voted president because George Bush had more experience than you.

So cut the chase, you are not God and you are not the best politician either. Do you ever speak the truth?

Posted by: Elvis | Dec 14, 2007 8:26:04 PM

Two questions;

1) What are bills motives for saying this

2) We should believe him, Why.....you've never looked us straight in the face and lied have you Bill?

Posted by: Mary | Dec 14, 2007 8:27:15 PM

It's one thing for an ex-president to endorse a candidate. It seems to cross some kind of line when the elder-statesman of the party begins to undermine a candidate who represents the future of the party (now or later). Does Bill really want to tarnish his legacy in this way? And if he is willing to do that, what does it say about why the Clinton's want so badly for HRC to be president?

Posted by: Dean | Dec 14, 2007 8:38:24 PM

President Clinton has a short memory here.
when he ran in 1992, let’s face it; he was a governor of a backward state in the south running against a seating president George Herbert Walker Bush. Before his presidency, George Bush Sr. happened to be a World War II veteran, who flew into combat. He was the Vice President of the United States in the administration of Ronald Reagan (1980 -1988). He has also served as the member of the United States House of Representatives for the 7th district of Texas (1967–1971), the United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1971–1973), Chairman of the Republican National Committee (1973–1974), Chief of the United States Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China (1974–1976), and Director of Central Intelligence (1976–1977).
My argument is that if Americans will elect Bill Clinton over Senior Bush then they will elect Obama over Hillary…end of story…

I'll will like someone to ask Bill, if he thinks that Americans were wrong to chose him over President Bush.

Posted by: joelle | Dec 14, 2007 8:43:00 PM

I will enthusiastically support Obama or Edwards if they win the nomination but I want to send the best horse we have to the race. Too many people are making the same mistake with Clinton as they made with Al Gore in 2000: believing that they are Republican-lite and not worthy of support. There was a world of difference between Gore and Bush as Americans and the rest of the world found out.

Posted by: YellowDogBlue | Dec 14, 2007 8:49:45 PM

Why on earth would we want the type of experience Hillary has? Isnt it all bad?

Posted by: sarah | Dec 14, 2007 8:52:54 PM

Bill is right. He should have waited a few more years to be enough experienced to know that Monica Lewinsky should not be touched by the President of the US himself. This is a bouch of liers. His wife was for the war because of "my 8 years at Pennsylvania Ave" and then Bill himself was "opposed to the war since the beginning". The best Clintonian position ever: the wife is for when the husband is soudainly against

Posted by: christ F | Dec 14, 2007 8:53:02 PM

Maybe Billy boy didn't run in '88 because he was still heavily into the cocaine and extra-marital affairs. Where did all Bill's coke come from anyway, shady shenanigans with the Arkansas state police perhaps? Gennifer Flowers is on record stating that Bill was real big on the coke and lots of it. The track record shows her credibilty to be far greater than the depraved Clintons. Gotta wonder where Roger Clinton got his coke too. Brian Ross, where are you?

Nothing that comes out of this clown's mouth has any credibility whatsoever. He's so ethically challenged that he doesn't even know truth from falsehood. He may as well talk like Charlie Brown's teacher so far as anyone with unimpaired judgement is concerned.

Posted by: squeenter squillo | Dec 14, 2007 8:55:47 PM

So YellowDogBlue,

So experience is experience at sleazy politics. I'm always amazed to see democrats tie the fate of the democratic party to the Clintons. Now let's look at the facts. During Bill Clinton tenure, the democratic lost the senate and the house. When, he left the white house we have few democratic governors than when he got in.
There will be no Health care reform, no energy policy, no real breakthrough on policy matters if we don't have a president who will help the party gain more seats in the house and in the senate. We won in 2006, but what have we been able to do in the congress on the Iraq war, A new energy policy? We don't have votes to enforce the promises made in the 2006 campaign.
I'm sorry, but Senator Clinton victory will not help the party to advance its agenda.

Posted by: jess | Dec 14, 2007 9:05:54 PM

Veronica,

Someone else already said it, but perhaps you need a history lesson...when Clinton became the first Baby Boomer in Office he was *gasp* 46 years old. How old would Sen Obama be on inaugeration day 2009? *gasp* 47. Obama would be older the Bill was when he first served...and he replaced not only a more experinced, older person for office, but the guy was running against him. You can not say now Experince matters but 16 years ago it didn't. You can't say age matters, but 16 years ago it didn't. If thats the case, we should all be voting for JOhn McCain, no?

Posted by: Steven | Dec 14, 2007 9:22:00 PM

Bill Clinton is a disgraced former President of the United States; he lost his license to practice law in Arkansas for lying under perjury. Monica Lewinsky parents entrusted their daughter to Clinton as an intern in the White House; Bill Clinton abused this little girl with oral sex. He has no credibility whatsoevr. Year 2008 will end the political lives of the Clintons. Hillary will not be her party's nominee.

Posted by: Sam Lobey | Dec 14, 2007 9:33:18 PM

EXPERIENCE - HA - HA - - - - - -S-l-i-c-k- -W-i-l-l-a-r-y- couldn’t keep her cheating hubby in line, but she thinks she can control the US and deal with world leaders - - - - - - yeah right - - - - Ole –S-l-i-c-k- -W-i-l-l-y- just cant wait to get back to chasing interns around the Oval Office - - - HE does have a lot of experience chasing women hehehehehe…….....

Posted by: FidoNY | Dec 14, 2007 9:46:17 PM

Bill, Bill, really. You said Hillary would win this on her own. You didn't run in 1988 because you hadn't yet figured out how to silence the women you cavorted with. You are too worried that Obama will come into office and make the same kinds of mistakes you made your first year. Don't worry, he's got way better judgement than you.

Posted by: Phil Blackwood | Dec 14, 2007 9:50:58 PM

At list Obama is not saying he smoked but did not inhale. You just reminded us that you had not experiences when you became President. You know Americans gave you a chance and they will do the same for Obama. A lot to people respect you but do not believe you. If you continue criticizing Obama, you will remind us all the problems of you time: whitewater, the Lincoln bedroom, travel gate, Jennifer, Kathleen, Paula and Monica, just to mention the few.

Posted by: Abigail | Dec 14, 2007 9:52:01 PM

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