Super Surrogate

"When every candidate except Hillary wants to put out unfavorable information about an opponent and be sure to draw heavy press coverage, the candidate himself must handle the task. And there's a downside: the candidate is deplored for 'going negative.' But if an aide or supporter is assigned the task, the media is likely to yawn and the information the candidate wants to trumpet gets far less coverage

"But not in Bill Clinton's case. He's the one supporter of a candidate whose words are reported to the world under blazing headlines."

Rich Lowry is appalled, disgusted and otherwise discomfited:

"His performance on Hillary's behalf has been desperate, accusatory, self-pitying and misleading. It has been a full-on blast of Bill Clinton's do-whatever's-necessary ethic of the sort we haven't seen since he wagged his finger at the country almost 10 years ago and denied having sex with Monica Lewinsky . . .

"As far as Bill Clinton is concerned, Obama might as well be a member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Obama is guilty of what they call in the laws of war a 'status offense.' He is running against Hillary, and therefore interposing himself between the Clintons and the object of their ambitions. This makes him as much fair game as Newt Gingrich, Paula Jones, or Ken Starr."

But liberals aren't cheering either. The Nation's Ari Berman sees a tarnished leader:

"Michelle Obama and Elizabeth Edwards are both great assets to their campaigns, but Bill Clinton is an ex-president! He's a leader of his party and a global statesman who rightly deserves to be held to a higher standard. Democrats expect him to help unify their party, not to become the Clinton campaign's Dick Cheney."

The New Republic (registration required) weighs in as an institution:

"Even if Bill helps Hillary eke out a victory over Obama, he will have diminished these recent accomplishments. When you go to watch Clinton as he makes his case to small crowds in Podunk locations, you can't help but view him differently. He loses his post-presidential luster and dignity, turning himself back into just another pol. And not an especially classy one. He bitches about the press and decries Obama's inexperience . . .

"Bill Clinton once proved a force for good in his party--and his prestige helped fuel his philanthropy. If he spends the coming months pounding away at Obama, and in ugly ways, he will have squandered that."

The media didn't dwell long on the "Rezko" issue, but thanks to Hillary, could it be making a comeback?

"Hillary Rodham Clinton dropped the name of Barack Obama's Chicago patron into the South Carolina debate Monday night, putting front and center a tangled relationship that has the potential to undermine Obama's image as a candidate whose ethical standards are distinctly higher than those of his main opponent," says the L.A. Times.