Bill Clinton Credits Obama for Speech Help

He may have slipped up a bit in Florida, though
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 12, 2012 11:14 AM CDT
Bill Clinton Credits Obama for Speech Help
Former President Bill Clinton gestures as he speaks at Florida International University, yesterday in Miami, as he campaigns for President Barack Obama.   (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Bill Clinton's speech last week may have been the high point for the Democratic National Convention, but the ex-president is happy to share the credit with the current one, reports Politico. Clinton said he showed his speech to Obama the morning of his presentation, and made changes regarding Medicare and welfare reform based on Obama's feedback (although Clinton refrained from saying what the exact changes were). Clinton also worked with Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, who helped him on speeches back when Clinton was president.

Clinton also gave another big speech for Obama yesterday, this time a relatively short 41 minutes at Florida International University, according to another Politico story. After Clinton's fiery and well-regarded speech at the Democrats' convention, Obama dubbed him the "Secretary of Explaining Stuff," a role Clinton appears to be relishing. But while Clinton seems to be enjoying his new status with the White House, he also showed some of the sloppiness that made him an occasional liability in the past. "The test is not whether you think everything is hunky-dory," he said yesterday. "If that were the test the president would vote against himself." (More Bill Clinton stories.)

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