Nobody is calling Clinton a racist, so the ex-prez can pummel that straw man all day if he likes, even if he has to stand that straw man up without any invitation or prompting.

Bullsh*t! Our memories are all in-tact and we all well-remember how the Obama campaign and the liberal media all called the Clintons racists.

Obama, once again, tried to play the race card and McCain called him on it. Good for McCain!

But, all his whining aside, Clinton did infuse race card in a very subtle way into the South Carolina primary last January, because I saw him do it.

You and a lot of other Clinton-haters see what you want to see.

I am struck dumb by the inanity of the writer's analysis.

handed the Repugs the White House for a blow job. Period. This fact alone exhibits his grossly narcissus existence revolves around the Ptolemy fact that all things revolve around him and him alone. Billy knows that there is no future for him painted as a racist. Too bad he did realize that in South carolina. No, the guy who couldn't even hand his former VP his home state of Arkansas and as President began the downward spiral of Fee Trade w/o accountability has now ensured he will not help Obama defeat the neocons this time around either. He may or may not be a racists. He truly is not a friend of the Democrats. Heck of a job Bill...

Where does Salon keep finding these pathetic incompetents like Schaller. Give it a rest for God's sake. Clinton never injected or said anything even remotely racist at any time in his life. But this cretin, who obviously has too much time on his hands, just keeps spouting this nonsense. As anyone who has followed the campaign understands, the African American community clearly wanted to support the black guy but didn't want to slight the Clintons. The easy way out came when Obama's campaign gave them the opening they were looking for - falsely accuse Clinton of racist remarks and smear him.

Please do us all a favor and send Schaller to the Washington Times or the Rush Limbaugh show where he belongs. Salon's credibility as a slightly progressive publication continues to be seriously weakened by its continuing to provide a forum for so-called journalists like Thomas Schaller.

...I couldn't agree more with Schaller's analysis. Most of us loved the Clintons passionately before South Carolina. Indeed, because love is blind, many of us overlooked Bill's Sista Souljah moment and some other things that we probably shouldn't have overlooked during the 90s. However, Bill went too far in SC. He is probably very bitter about taking a chance on biting the hand that fed him so well for so many years and subsequently losing.

Bill may want to consider moving that office of his from Harlem to Bensonhurst.

Sort of brings up an important point for Americans, namely what to do with ex-presidents of the Democratic persuasion. Being rather simple creatures at heart, the Republican exes are content to retire into the business community and continue their long standing interest in personal wealth acquisition and taking care of those who took care of them through lobbying. Democrats are different, mostly because they tend to have a worrisome thing called a sense of responsibility, and it doesn't go away. Jimmy Carter, God bless him, is still traveling around the world causing trouble after all these years.

Clinton will undoubtedly be with us for another 20 years, and it's increasingly clear that something needs to be done to keep this man from destroying everything we believe in by continuing to insist on his own inclusion and importance in the political process. Short of brothel inspector it's hard to imagine a position that would satisfy and occupy this bitter self-righteous and self-indulgent man enough to keep him out of the public eye.

Do any of you have any influence with the Governor of Nevada?

Thomas Schaller is exactly right: The Clintons aren't racists, per se. But they absolutely did try to use race as a wedge during the primary. Their racial comments throughout the primary season -- the Jesse Jackson crack, Hillary's MLK/LBJ comparison, not a Muslim "so far as I know," insisting he reject and denounce Farrakhan, Ferraro's diatribe, etc. -- were too consistent to be an accident. The Clintons are pros and they knew exactly what they were doing.

And while the man who has lifted up from poverty and disease more men, women, and children then any other person on earth stands in the high grass of 100 degree Africa doing his good work…………………..

Oh, are you still here? thank you Mr. Schaller, you can go now, your work is finished here.

I'll spell it out. What Mr. Schaller's saying, and what is patently clear to anyone who thought about it objectively, is that no one believes, or accused, Bill Clinton of being a racist. Injecting race as an issue into the campaign is not the same thing as being a racist. I didn't think Bill's "Jesse won SC" comments made him look like a racist; I thought they made him look like a man who was getting desperate because his wife was losing.

Nor would I accuse John McCain of being a racist, and obviously some of the complaints about that stupid Paris/Britney ad are pretty out there (it's not "call me, Harold" territory, at least); but his campaign is cynically playing to a part of the electorate they believe will be influenced by race. Kinda like Bill did, I guess.

Nobody is calling Clinton a racist

Really? Nobody? Hmm, let me just pull up Google...

Wow, "'Bill Clinton' racist" pulls up 3.7 million hits. Huh. Maybe those were all added today?

I agree that Clinton's latest comments were not particularly helpful. But he's responding to a real criticism, and one that (I imagine) genuinely hurt his feelings.

Of course, he should subordinate those feelings to the greater good, and keep his mouth shut for the moment. But that's never been something he's been good at.