A few days ago, he popped up in Europe and Israel for a couple of high-profile appearances. One was to inaugurate a memorial cemetery for 7,000 Muslim men and boys who died eight years ago in Srebrenica. Another was to attend an 80th birthday celebration for former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
And where's Hillary? Who? She's back in Washington holding press conferences about Head Start and Americorps and issuing "Calls for."
As in Sen. Clinton 'calls for' extending the 9-11 Victims Compensation Fund; 'calls for' the Department of Homeland Security to direct funding to first responders; and 'calls for' Homeland Security to extend mental health services for New Yorkers still suffering from 9-11.
Excuse me while I call for a double espresso. I'm sure these are important issues, but they lack a certain je ne sais quoi. Gravitas? Pizzazz? Hillary may get all her homework done on time and wear sensible shoes, but she doesn't have the charismatic dazzle necessary to pull off a presidency. At least not by herself.
Enter Mr. Bill, a stand-by-your-woman man, as no doubt described in the Faustian pact he and his wife sealed long ago. Any vote for Hillary would be at least partly, if not mostly, a vote for Bill. Even non-fans can feel sympathy for Hillary's fate as a scorned woman sentenced to life in her husband's shadow.
Were she elected, Hillary's moment as first woman president of the United States inevitably would be muted by what many would perceive as the mother of all 'twofers.'
Whatever Hillary may bring to the table, it is Bill for whom the crowds clamor. It is Bill who holds audiences in thrall and brings women to their knees. It is Bill who will be viewed as the leader of the free world, no matter who delivers the state of the union.
If I were Hillary Rodham and wanted to be president someday, I'd tell Bill Clinton to calm down, get his little buggy back to Chappaqua and learn to bake cookies.