Reuters just referred to Bill Clinton as Bill “The Comeback Kid” Clinton. Where did that come from?

He’s campaigning for Democrats to try and help them retain majorities in both Houses of Congress this Fall. For one, how is that a comeback? And for two, how is it strange for a current or former president to campaign to help his party? Referencing his campaigning for Blanche Lincoln, Reuters credits Clinton with helping her overcome “anti-incumbent fervor” in her Arkansas re-election bid. I’m sure it helped people to see the home-state former governor and president out stomping for Lincoln, but that doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary to me. It seems like how politics work.

The debate seems to be raging as to whether Clinton is in fact someone who can help the Democrats in the Fall, or if he is someone who will hurt their chances.

"A lot of people still like Bill Clinton, particularly Democrats. They remember the Clinton years as prosperous and relatively peaceful," said Quinnipiac University pollster Peter Brown.

Gotta love the pollsters’ opinions, right?

And it sounds like everyone is asking for Clinton’s help.

"We're going to take as much of Bill Clinton as we can get. No one can deliver a message better,” said Senator Robert Menendez, Senate Democratic campaign chairman.

So, he sounds pretty helpful, and it sounds like people want him around. While some pundits say that in places he is still toxic and would not be much of a help, referencing the sex scandal of Clinton’s 1992 campaign is ridiculous. That was almost 20 years ago. He’s been president and seen his wife go on to become Secretary of State since then. He is not lugging that baggage around when he makes campaign speeches. He is speaking as the former president of our country. Two-term, at that.

So Republican conservatives hate him- no kidding. He’s a successful and well-loved Democrat. Put him speaking up against any Tea Party candidate campaign and you will see what it means to polarize a population. That can only help the Democrats, in my view.

And you have to love that the fear the Republicans have is about money. "What's going to be an albatross around the neck of Democrats in November is the unpopular policies, spending and debt that people are responding to in dramatic fashion. The amount of money that a former president can help raise is something that I'm worried about," said Senator John Cornyn, Senate Republican campaign committee chairman.

Bottom line, Clinton is an asset to the Democratic Party. He does take a lot of heat from the Republicans, but that is just part of the game. Comeback Kid? I don’t like that name. It may be good politics to position yourself as the outsider or the underdog in a campaign, but the reality is that Clinton is a very successful politician campaigning for the Party that is in power, to help them stay in power. We have a lot more work to do in the Democratic Party, and we need Democrats in Washington to do it. Get Bill Clinton to help make it.

Photo Credit: Creativity + Timothy K Hamilton