There has been much ink spilled and breath consumed the past few days over the alleged rift between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.  Despite their many similarities as candidates, the Washington Post explains a profound estrangement arising not just from Bill's distress over charges that he had used racially coded language, but also from a generational divide.  To be sure, it is in both their interests for Bill Clinton to begin to heal the division (whether overhyped or not) with a rousing endorsement of Obama tonight.  Nothing less than his legacy and future influence in the Democratic Party is at stake as are the principles on which he has staked his political career.  

But there's another side to this issue that hasn't received a lot of attention and that's the Obama campaign's seeming reluctance to embrace Clinton's legacy, an eminently sensible step politically and one that would broaden his appeal considerably.  Of course, running against Hillary (and by extension Bill) in the primaries, Barack had to present himself as the candidate of change - which to a party fed up with leaders seen to have given Bush his way on the war and other depredations and suffering from Clinton/dynasty fatigue was a necessary and winning strategy.  He even went so far as to point to Ronald Reagan as the most transformative politician in recent history. 

The situation now is quite different.  With the economy emerging as perhaps the most significant figure, all Obama needs to do is point to the eight year run of prosperity enjoyed by the last Democratic administration, a shocking contrast to the mess the Republicans have made over the past eight.  Despite his personal failings, most Americans still believe Clinton to have been an outstanding executive.

Tying himself to the Clinton record would not only help to ease the rift but also helps alleviate the concerns (unwarranted in my view) among voters concerned that they "don't know what Obama stands for."  A large number of the undecideds profess unease with Obama's message of change (owing, it would seem, to unfair perceptions about his race, fair perceptions of his lack of executive governing experience or just plain sour grapes). With the primaries over, Obama should be doing everything he can to affiliate himself with the positive legacy of the most effective Democratic president of our lifetime.
 
I am not saying Bill Clinton is a Saint.  There are many valid reasons to be disappointed in him as a person and as a President.  But Democrats do themselves no favors by tearing down Bill, whose abilities were widely admired when he left office. By way of contrast, the Republicans have turned Reagan into a bona fide hero, a thought that sickens those of us who lived through his Presidency.  Our past two candidates have done their best to run away from Big Bad Bill.  Look where it got them.  If Barack can successfully embrace Bill without becoming smothered in the process, it will accomplish more to bring the bring the party together and take control of the torch than anything Clinton says tonight.