Clintons play 'good cop/bad cop' on campaign trail

CNN: From Candy Crowley
CNN Washington Bureau


The Clintons celebrate after Hillary Clinton's victory in New Hampshire.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- While Sen. Hillary Clinton is trying to soften her image in the campaign, she is allowing her pit bull -- Bill Clinton -- to go on the attack. In a version of "good cop/bad cop" the couple has gone after the senator's closest rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama.

The former president aggressively interjected himself into a debate Wednesday when he became visibly combative with a reporter after being questioned about a lawsuit in Nevada that sought to ban caucus meetings in nine casinos on the Las Vegas Strip....The Democratic presidential candidate herself took a much different approach when she was asked whether the case would help Obama -- she ignored the question. Instead, she responded "I hope that it can be resolved by the courts and by the state party because obviously we want as many people as possible to be able to participate."...

While speaking at an event with Magic Johnson and his daughter, Chelsea Clinton, in north Las Vegas, Nevada, Thursday, Bill Clinton continued to criticize how the media treated his wife compared to other candidates....On Wednesday night the presidential candidate welcomed the press on the maiden voyage of a charter jet her campaign has dubbed "Hill Force 1." "Hi my name is Hillary, and I am pleased to have most of you on board," she chirped over the PA system in her most cheerful flight attendant voice....

The couple's strategy is becoming routine, with Sen. Clinton playing the "good cop" and Bill Clinton bringing the heavy artillery. For example, Hillary often takes a subtle dig at Obama's limited time on the national stage by saying "there is not a contradiction between experience and change." Bill Clinton, on the other hand, is often much more direct....Earlier in the campaign, the two would travel together, but, now, the couple operates more like a tag team. While she debated in Nevada Tuesday night, he was revving up voters in California. On Thursday, the roles switched. While she's in California, he picked up the slack in Nevada.

The approach may help the New York senator's chances. For Democrats, Bill Clinton reminds them of the good economy in the 1990, and 89 percent of Democrats view him favorably. Fond memories of the Clinton years force Obama and former Sen. John Edwards, the other major Democratic nominee competing against Clinton, to tread lightly but the two are pressing their case, arguing mostly that the country needs a sea change. "I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not," Obama told the Reno Gazette-Journal's editorial board this week. But attacking the Clinton legacy can be tricky business. In New Hampshire exit polls, 49 percent of Democrats had a strongly favorable opinion of Bill Clinton, and a majority of them voted for his wife.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/18/clinton.tag.team/index.html#cnnSTCText

I like him better as the jovial bubba!

posing as a political campaign and political coupling

i`m not sure who is better :rofl: