Swampland - TIME.com

Bill Sells Hillary

So HillaryClinton.com has posted a new video, a nearly 5-minute testimonial from Bill Clinton about why his wife should be the next president. It's mighty well done, as you would expect. He starts by addressing one of the Clinton campaign's major worries -- that voters have decided they already know everything there is to know about Hillary and either love her or hate her accordingly. Bill opens by saying, Let me tell you some things you probably don't know about Hillary (my paraphrase). He then proceeds to give a biographical sketch of Hillary's professional life, with a heavy focus on her work for poor children over the years. He also casts her later career, in the Senate, in a mold that worked effectively for him -- as a tireless worker, waking up every day and trying to make things a little better for the American people.

The question, of course: Is the video effective? Or does it backfire? Will Bill's fluid and persuasive delivery remind people that Hillary's not nearly so good a politician as her husband? Or will having the ultimate political salesman making the pitch on her behalf be a net benefit? Having watched it a few times, it feels to me like a net plus for Hillary. But I could be wrong. Have a look and let us know what you think:


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About Swampland

Ana Marie Cox

Ana Marie Cox is the founding editor of Wonkette and the author of the novel Dog Days. Read more

Joe Klein

Joe Klein is TIME's political columnist and author of six books, most recently Politics Lost. His weekly TIME column, "In the Arena," covers national and international affairs. In 2004 he won the National Headliner Award for best magazine column. Read more

Karen Tumulty

Senior Writer Karen Tumulty has been TIME's National Political Correspondent since 2001, and has also covered the White House and Congress for the magazine. A native of San Antonio, she is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Harvard Business School, where her career choice has significantly lowered the average salary of her graduating class. But she gets lots of free magazines. Read more

Jay Carney

Jay Carney is TIME's Washington bureau chief. He has covered both the Clinton and Bush 43 White Houses, as well as Congress. Before coming to Washington, he spent three years reporting from TIME's Moscow bureau. In his next life, he would like to write for Sports Illustrated. Read more

Jay Newton-Small

Jay Newton-Small Jay Newton-Small covers politics for TIME. She has covered the Bush 43 White House and also Congress from the DeLay era to the present. And, yes, despite the misleading name SHE is a she. Read more

Michael Scherer

Michael Scherer is a correspondent in TIME's Washington bureau covering the 2008 presidential campaign. He has worked national assignments for Mother Jones magazine and Salon.com. Read more

Mike Murphy

Mike Murphy is a political consultant who helped elect more than a dozen GOP Senators and Governors including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney. In 2000, Murphy was a senior strategist for John McCain's presidential campaign. Read more

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