I’m not saying that DLC documents aren’t historically significant. I’m not saying that they don’t belong in the Clinton Library. I’m just saying that the fact that the Clinton Library bought up all the DLC documents so that the DLC would have the money to pay off its debts and close up shop confirms a few things I had to say back in 2008. Namely, that the Clintons were, at heart, synonymous with the DLC, and that their ideology was dead and their time over.
In fairness to Bill and Hillary Clinton, I have revised my opinion of their terms in the White House in a favorable direction since witnessing Obama’s challenges in office. I am modestly less unimpressed with their performance than I used to be. This is primarily a result of my gaining a richer appreciation for process issues and the ways that the media, divisions within the Democratic Party, and (especially) Congressional rules make it difficult for any Democrat to effect progressive change.
Having said that, the biggest difference between Obama, on one side, and the DLC and the Clintons, on the other, is that the DLC and the Clintons set out to move the party to the right, while Obama has no such agenda. Obama has also had much more success on health care and gay rights, both of which bedeviled President Clinton during his first two years in office.
