Obama makes peace with Bill Clinton to improve his approval ratings

2010-07-18

In order to improve his approval ratings, which have been going downwards ahead of the crucial mid-term elections, US President Barack Obama, has turned for help to one of his harshest Democratic critics, Bill Clinton.

To drag his presidency out of the doldrums and salvage Democratic prospects in a bleak campaign season, Obama is forging a partnership with his bitter critic from the 2008 presidential race.

Former President Clinton, who is viewed by many Americans for bringing an era of economic boom, will be dispatched to campaign in key states where Democratic candidates regard Obama as a political liability. senior Clinton advisor recently sat down with Obama aides to map out the strategy to support "endangered" Democratic candidates as the party battles to retain its majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate in November.

The move is seen as a dramatic transformation from the hostilities of 2008 when Clinton was often reduced to making rants as a supporter for his wife Hillary in her acrimonious battle with Obama for the Democratic nomination, The Telegraph reports.

In the latest polling, 43 per cent of American strongly disapprove of his leadership, while only 26 per cent strongly approve. And a mere 13 per cent believed that his economic policies had benefitted them.

So it was significant that Obama last week invited Clinton to a meeting at the White House to discuss the economy on Wednesday just as the US Chamber of Commerce accused him of a "general attack on our free enterprise system", the paper said.

The previous day, the President named Jack Lew, Clinton's budget director at a time when the US was enjoying several years of surpluses, to the same role in his administration, it added.

Source:ANI