Farewell Hillary, Hello Bill

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows Hillary Clinton's popularity dropping significantly, even in the midst and in the wake of the Obama/Rev. Wright debacle. Not good news for Hillary, whose chances now seem very slim. Even a win in PA, unless a landslide (defined as 60+% of the vote), cannot save her campaign now.

I would have to count myself among those whose regard for the New York Senator has dropped. She's proven herself Old School, and I don't want Old School. She may be on the right side, and her politics are perhaps capable, but they're not attractive. She's not got the air of high statesmanship. She's a wonk in the trenches, and that is where she needs to be. She will, after her run, thrive as a notorious and increasingly powerful Senator, a la Ted Kennedy, until she retires.

As long as Clinton has been running for office, I have wanted nothing to do with her husband, Bill. He's been a pain. But that could change.

If Senator Clinton were to win the presidency, Bill's presence, and even more so any actual involvement, would be seen as cronyism. We'd never hear the end of speculation and investigations into his role in a Hillary White House (which should, like wedding dresses for second and subsequent marriages, be repainted off-white, if not yellow or pink).

But if Senator Obama were to win the presidency, any involvement by Bill would be seen as resourceful team-building, as reaching out, as a la Martha Stewart cleaning house, a good thing.

And so let's hear it for some positive team-building.

And the good news for Hillary: with the end of her push to be president, her negatives will sink, and her positives will go up. Her slightly martyred and slightly heroic stature will rise and stabilize.