For evidence, look no farther than a New York Times article last Monday that recounted how Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel stuffed Hillary’s hiring of former Clinton aide and Obama campaign provocateur Sidney Blumenthal. What was interesting about that piece is that the only person who probably would have told that story is Rahm – a clear signal from the White House to the Clintons that they need to play ball.
“There is a lot of fight left in him,” says former Clinton White House aide Simon Rosenberg, “and it is happening at a moment of tremendous opportunity for Democrats.”
Rosenberg, now head of the Washington-based think tank NDN, adds: “You can hear it in his voice that he is struggling to calibrate his role, to be satisfied with what he has and not go beyond what is appropriate for him.”
A GOP strategist who once worked against Clinton says that, because of his stature and presence, Clinton could help to complete the Reagan legacy for America where we "truly become the last best hope for mankind" by working on two fronts, as an ambassador for peace and for health.
With or without White House empowerment as a peace ambassador, Clinton could help to bring opposing sides together to solve such conflicts as those in the Middle East or the Koreas.
As an ambassador for health, his greatest legacy will be the work of his foundation in fighting disease around the world. If researchers are close to discovering a vaccine for HIV/AIDS, it will be Clinton who can take the lead in ridding Africa of the deadly disease; he also can seek to improve nutrition and children’s health around the world.
These are things a president or secretary of state can't do because of too many other pressing demands. But a former president can, with the power of the institution he left behind.
One other possibility, albeit remote, is for Clinton to become the next United Nations leader. (Remote, because other countries will never allow an American to hold the post.)
Time has a way of softening partisan views of former presidents, and Bill Clinton is no exception. But his biggest obstacle may be found in the halls of the Obama administration.