The Clintons' Bad Gamble?

It has seemed like even after he won the nomination the Clintons, and perhaps especially Bill Clinton, wanted Obama to come with hat in hand and say, "I just can't win this without you." More cynical people (and yes, there are some more cynical than I) have suggested that the Clintons secretly hoped Obama would lose so that Hillary Clinton could run again in 2012.

But if things keep going the way they're going, the Clinton's 1992 observation that it's "the economy, stupid" is going to prove itself correct, and Obama will "do it without them." In which case it not only would have been better for the party, but better for the Clintons, had they immediately and unreservedly gotten on board with Obama from the moment he became the inevitable nominee.

Note, I'm not suggesting that Hillary Clinton should have stopped campaigning one moment sooner than that. Note also, as I have previously suggested, I'm of the opinion that Obama could and should have done more to mend fences with the Clintons after the primary campaign ended.