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BY STEVEN HSIEH

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES


Former President Bill Clinton’s take on the economy is coming out in hardback.

It’s called “Back to Work: Why We need Smart Government for a Strong Economy,” and it hits shelves Tuesday.

According to The Washington Post, Clinton agrees with President Barack Obama’s economic message. The problem, he suggests – was in the sell.

“Clinton mostly aligns himself with Obama on the big picture, arguing that the president did the right thing, or at least the best he could given the economy he inherited, with the stimulus package...But the subtext of the book is that Obama has struggled, both to identify workable economic policies and to outmaneuver his Republican foes.”

In the book – President Clinton places much of the blame for the economic crisis on the Bush administration--

--and uses examples from his own days in office to highlight economically prosperous times.
But an anchor for Fox News says, as far as the economy goes – the 42nd president is not off the hook.

“Well, it fertilized in the housing crisis. It started there. That’s where it started, through the push of Fanny and Freddie community reinvestment act … But that’s also, we need to point out, Clinton did well because they had an internet boom … And then he goes on to say, but Bush spent too much? Well, Obama is spending at double the rate that Bush spent at.”

But some media outlets were less interested in the Bush/Obama comparisons-- and focused on what the book means for the Clinton/Obama relationship.

The Atlantic Wire says...

“The ex-president is the underminer-in-chief.”

But The New York Times’ notes-- Clinton’s presidential advice book could be a boost for Mr. Obama.

“The book marks a new and somewhat warmer stage in the two men’s rivalry and relationship, one that could benefit Mr. Obama. The awkward twist: the former president has been so frustrated at what he sees as the current one’s failure to explain his economic policies that he has literally decided to write his own version of the story.”

Finally-- NBC’s David Gregory says Mr. Clinton is no stranger to backseat politicking…

GREGORY: “When I was covering Bush, he used to say “the shadow returns” when he was talking about Gore. And it was the shadow of Bill Clinton, and he was trying to fight it. And now, the shadow returns, and Obama doesn’t like it either.”
MATTHEWS: “How many Clinton people are out there today? There are more Clinton people out there today than Obama people.”

Transcript by Newsy