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http://www.examiner.com/a-573127~Some_mull_idea_of_Sen__Bill_Clinton.html?89
Some mull idea of Sen. Bill Clinton
Bill Sammon, The Examiner
Feb 18, 2007 9:57 PM (1 day ago)
WASHINGTON -
If Hillary Rodham Clinton wins the presidency, some top
Democrats would like to see her husband, former President Bill
Clinton, appointed to serve out Hillary’s unexpired Senate term.
“As a senator, he’d be a knockout,” said Harold Ickes, who was
once a top White House aide to Bill Clinton and now gives
behind-the-scenes advice to Hillary. “He knows issues, he loves
public policy and he’s a good politician.”
Some Democrats and political analysts say Bill Clinton would
thrive in the world’s greatest deliberative body, much like Lyndon
Johnson did before he became president.
“President Clinton would excel in the Senate,” said Paul Begala, who helped Bill Clinton get elected
and served in the White House as a top aide.
“Why not?” Begala added. “He excelled as attorney general and governor of Arkansas, he excelled
as president and he’s been a model of the modern Senate spouse.”
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, agreed.
“Clinton is a natural for the Senate,” Sabato said. “He loves to talk and schmooze. He could be a
great vote-organizer. Majority Leader Clinton?”
Such a scenario is not beyond the realm of possibility now that the governor’s mansion in New York
is occupied by a Democrat, Eliot Spitzer, who succeeded Republican Gov. George Pataki last
month. If Hillary Clinton wins the White House, Spitzer would likely appoint a fellow Democrat to
take over her Senate seat.
So far, speculation about potential successors has focused on New York Attorney General Andrew
Cuomo and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose father once held the same Senate
seat.
But Spitzer could just as easily appoint Bill Clinton, who, under New York law, would fill his
wife’s Senate seat through 2010. A special election would then be held, and the winner would serve
the final two years of her term, which expires in 2012.
Although Ickes would love to see Bill Clinton in the Senate, he considers the scenario a long shot.
“I think there’d be a real call on [Spitzer] to appoint a black senator,” Ickes said. “I think there’d be
a real call on him to appoint a Hispanic senator.”
Bill Clinton, who was once dubbed America’s “first black president” by author Toni Morrison,
(AP File photo)
Could Bill Clinton take over
his wife’s Senate seat if he
becomes the first first
husband? Some think so.
would not be the first former president to serve in Congress. John Quincy Adams had a long career
in the House after his presidency, and Andrew Johnson served briefly in the Senate after a stint in
the White House. Johnson and Clinton are the only two presidents in history to have been
impeached by the House. Both were acquitted by the Senate.
Political analysts say a Senate seat for Bill would go a long way toward solving a potentially
nettlesome problem for Hillary — what to do with her husband if they return to the White House.
The former president currently maintains an office in Harlem and a home with his wife in
Chappaqua, N.Y.
“Nothing will solve the Bill problem entirely,” Sabato said. “He will be restless and underfoot for
Hillary, in part because he is the more talented pol.”
There would also be financial ramifications.
“It would certainly lower the family income because there are restrictions on how much a senator
can bring in on speeches and so forth,” said presidential scholar Stephen Hess of George
Washington University. “Of course he’d have housing, because she’d put him up in the Lincoln
Bedroom or something.”
[email protected]
Examiner
Some mull idea of Sen. Bill Clinton
Bill Sammon, The Examiner
Feb 18, 2007 9:57 PM (1 day ago)
WASHINGTON -
If Hillary Rodham Clinton wins the presidency, some top
Democrats would like to see her husband, former President Bill
Clinton, appointed to serve out Hillary’s unexpired Senate term.
“As a senator, he’d be a knockout,” said Harold Ickes, who was
once a top White House aide to Bill Clinton and now gives
behind-the-scenes advice to Hillary. “He knows issues, he loves
public policy and he’s a good politician.”
Some Democrats and political analysts say Bill Clinton would
thrive in the world’s greatest deliberative body, much like Lyndon
Johnson did before he became president.
“President Clinton would excel in the Senate,” said Paul Begala, who helped Bill Clinton get elected
and served in the White House as a top aide.
“Why not?” Begala added. “He excelled as attorney general and governor of Arkansas, he excelled
as president and he’s been a model of the modern Senate spouse.”
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, agreed.
“Clinton is a natural for the Senate,” Sabato said. “He loves to talk and schmooze. He could be a
great vote-organizer. Majority Leader Clinton?”
Such a scenario is not beyond the realm of possibility now that the governor’s mansion in New York
is occupied by a Democrat, Eliot Spitzer, who succeeded Republican Gov. George Pataki last
month. If Hillary Clinton wins the White House, Spitzer would likely appoint a fellow Democrat to
take over her Senate seat.
So far, speculation about potential successors has focused on New York Attorney General Andrew
Cuomo and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose father once held the same Senate
seat.
But Spitzer could just as easily appoint Bill Clinton, who, under New York law, would fill his
wife’s Senate seat through 2010. A special election would then be held, and the winner would serve
the final two years of her term, which expires in 2012.
Although Ickes would love to see Bill Clinton in the Senate, he considers the scenario a long shot.
“I think there’d be a real call on [Spitzer] to appoint a black senator,” Ickes said. “I think there’d be
a real call on him to appoint a Hispanic senator.”
Bill Clinton, who was once dubbed America’s “first black president” by author Toni Morrison,
(AP File photo)
Could Bill Clinton take over
his wife’s Senate seat if he
becomes the first first
husband? Some think so.
would not be the first former president to serve in Congress. John Quincy Adams had a long career
in the House after his presidency, and Andrew Johnson served briefly in the Senate after a stint in
the White House. Johnson and Clinton are the only two presidents in history to have been
impeached by the House. Both were acquitted by the Senate.
Political analysts say a Senate seat for Bill would go a long way toward solving a potentially
nettlesome problem for Hillary — what to do with her husband if they return to the White House.
The former president currently maintains an office in Harlem and a home with his wife in
Chappaqua, N.Y.
“Nothing will solve the Bill problem entirely,” Sabato said. “He will be restless and underfoot for
Hillary, in part because he is the more talented pol.”
There would also be financial ramifications.
“It would certainly lower the family income because there are restrictions on how much a senator
can bring in on speeches and so forth,” said presidential scholar Stephen Hess of George
Washington University. “Of course he’d have housing, because she’d put him up in the Lincoln
Bedroom or something.”
[email protected]
Examiner
