Bill Clinton: "Wah-Wah-Wah-Wah!"

A recent article in the UK's Telegraph newspaper suggests that Bill Clinton is still acting like a petulant little child following the defeat of Hillary Clinton by Barack Obama in the Democratic primary. Here are some highlights of the Telegraph article:

• "The Telegraph has learned that the former president's rage is still so great that even loyal allies are shocked by his patronising attitude to Mr Obama, and believe that he risks damaging his own reputation by his intransigence."

• "But his lingering fury has shocked his friends. The Democrat told the Telegraph: "He's been angry for a while. But everyone thought he would get over it. He hasn't. I've spoken to a couple of people who he's been in contact with and he is mad as hell...

"He's saying he's not going to reach out, that Obama has to come to him. One person told me that Bill said Obama would have to quote kiss my ass close quote, if he wants his support.

"You can't talk like that about Obama - he's the nominee of your party, not some house boy you can order around.

"Hillary's just getting on with it and so should Bill."

• Another Democrat said that despite polls showing Mr Obama with a healthy lead over Republican John McCain, Mr Clinton doesn't think he can win.

The party strategist, who was allied to one of the early rivals to Mr Obama and the former First Lady, said Mr Clinton was "very unhopeful" about the nominee's prospects in November.

"Bill Clinton knows the party will unite behind Obama, but he is telling people he doesn't believe Obama can win round voting groups, especially working-class whites, in the swing states," the strategist said.

"He just doesn't think Obama will be able to connect with the voters he needs."

• Joe Klein, the author of Primary Colours, a fictionalised account of Mr Clinton's 1992 election, who has known the former president for 20 years, said he also heard that he was "very, very bitter", from people who have spoken with him.

"It's time for him to get over it or go off and do his charitable work. He knows the rules of the road. What's going on now is kind of strange. I think his behaviour is really, really shocking."

Oh, and there are other sources that detail similar behavior by the ex-Prez. For instance, Bill, who has long been a very close friend of Oprah Winfrey, remains chilly toward her, too.

Thomas Edsall, in an article titled, "It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To," suggests that Bill Clinton - who is busy playing the victim card - has no clue that he brought his troubles on himself:

"Some say Bill Clinton not only wants Obama to reach out to him, but to also promise to lift the cloud of alleged racism -- an accusation that continues to eat at the man once dubbed the nation's "first black president." Clinton, these folks suggest, wants Obama to publicly exonerate him of the charge that he played the race card in the primaries.

Beyond that, some associates say, Bill Clinton wants Obama to reach out to him as a mentor, a guide who can lead Obama through the labyrinth of a tough presidential election. "Bill wants to be honored, to return to the role of Democratic elder statesman, and get rid of this image of him as a pol willing to do anything to win," said one associate."

As one poster over at Daily Kos put it:

If Bill Clinton didn't want to be called a racist, maybe he should've refrained from using racially loaded terms like "fairy tale," "roll of the dice," and "Jesse Jackson" against the first African American with a legitimate shot at the presidency. If Bill Clinton wants to be the party's elder statesman, then maybe he should have refrained from becoming the attack dog in a campaign against a fellow Democrat. What Bill Clinton freely chose to do was beneath the Office of the Presidency of the United States, but ultimately it was Bill Clinton's choice.

That Bill Clinton thinks Barack Obama can do something to undo the damage Bill Clinton inflicted upon himself is truly laughable, but not that surprising. After Monica, it was his fellow Democrats who bailed him out. Bill Clinton is not capable of understanding the concept of personal responsibility. Others have always bailed Bill Clinton out when he got himself into trouble, so he expects the same now. It's not going to happen, as the party is tired of being distracted by Bill Clinton's failures.

If Bill Clinton wants to remove the doubt about his racial views, he should be out on the campaign trail. He should be going to every rural town he visited for Hillary Clinton on Barack Obama's behalf. Bill Clinton, were he an objective and rational person instead of the selfish and irrational person he is, would realize that his legacy is caught up in the election of Barack Obama.

Any thoughts or reactions to these latest revelations?

UPDATE: Terry McAulliffe says Bill and Barack will be meeting some time in the next 48 hours to discuss Bill's role in the general election campaign. Is this damage control? spin? a genuine gesture that challenges the Telegraph's story? something else?