Bill Clinton ‘Not to Support Obama’? A Rumor, a Denial, and the Press That Loved It

A report in Newsmax claiming that Bill Clinton had expressed private reservations about supporting President Obama's reelection bid generated immediate attention and denial — a combination that illustrates the particular dynamics of political rumor during the pre-primary season of a presidential cycle.

The Clinton-Obama relationship has been complex since the 2008 primary, when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama competed in one of the most closely contested Democratic nomination fights in modern history. The public reconciliation was swift and professionally managed — Hillary became Secretary of State, Bill campaigned for Obama in 2008 and would do so again — but the political press has never fully abandoned the story of underlying tension.

The Newsmax report, sourced to unnamed insiders, claimed Clinton was dissatisfied with Obama's handling of the economy and had expressed doubt about his reelection prospects. Obama's team denied the substance. Clinton's office issued a statement of support.

Whether any private skepticism exists is unknowable from the outside and probably unknowable from most of the inside. What is certain is that the Clintons' public political interest runs toward Obama's success. A weakened Democratic president weakens the party that Hillary would need to lead a future nomination campaign; a successful Obama presidency creates a foundation on which she could build.

The episode is less interesting for what it reveals about Clinton and Obama than for what it reveals about the political press in a pre-election period: an irresistible appetite for fracture narratives, and a willingness to elevate unverified insider claims into news when those claims fit an attractive story.