With Friends Like Bill Clinton, Obama Could Be Out of a Job in November

In an informal and far-ranging interview with Maria Bartoromo of CNBC, President Bill Clinton gave a host of answers to financial and economic questions and it was all down hill for the only Democrat to be elected US President after Clinton - Barak Obama.
Bill started off by saying that the United States is already in recession and that the best cure would be to extend all tax breaks into 2013 at least. He included the Bush tax cuts and said that it doesn’t matter right now if the cuts help the rich. What matters is to get the American economy on its feet and avoid further contraction. He included employment tax breaks in the package, as well. President Obama, take note and get the Democratic troops organized. In this line of thought, Clinton also said that picking on business or bankers with a broad brush is not the way to do it. Obama should say who the bad guys are and why and follow up with facts.
Clinton added, as if the White House wasn’t already in a tailspin, that if the tax cuts expire and the spending cuts kick in, there would be a fiscal cliff that could put America in an even worse downturn.
"What I think we need to do is find some way to avoid the fiscal cliff, to avoid doing anything that would contract the economy now, and then deal with what's necessary in the long-term debt-reduction plans as soon as they can, which presumably would be after the election," Clinton told CNBC.
The former President added that lawmakers need to compromise with President Barack Obama, and all sides need to agree to keep tax cuts and spending structures in play now and make sure growth returns -- and then tackle deficits.
"They will probably have to put everything off until early next year. That's probably the best thing to do right now. But the Republicans don't want to do that unless he agrees to extend the tax cuts permanently, including for upper income people, and I don't think the president should do that." Clinton added.
Turning to taxes, Clinton says top earners should pay more because current US tax levels “aren't that high,” saying they just feel high because of the economic downturn.
"They're still pretty low, the government spending levels. But I think they look high because there's a recession," Clinton says.
"So the taxes look lower than they really would be if we had two and half or 3 percent growth and spending is higher than it would be if we had two and a half or 3 percent growth, because there are so many people getting food stamps, so many people getting unemployment, so many people on Medicaid."
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has the economy will officially fall into recession if the White House and Congress don't act now.
All the while, Mr. Clinton kept saying that he supports President Obama and his policies and programs. But, this was a case when words spoke louder than actions.
Bill Clinton is a very smart politician and he knows that his words carry more weight than perhaps any other political figure in the US. Why would he say that we need tax cut extensions and cooperation with Congress and that the US is already in a recession. These are all items Obama is fighting daily to avoid saying - or to blame President Bush for - or to say that Romney would make worse.
I know it’s not possible, well not possible for anyone but Bill Clinton -- but I have to wonder if he doesn’t see a White House future for his wife, Hillary, sooner than 2016. And, is he preparing to steal the convention and nomination from Barak Obama?
If I were the President, I’d be very careful. You really don’t need enemies when you’ve got a friend like Bill Clinton.