Clinton Advisers: Boss Supports Tax Cuts Because He's Old and Senile

[Geee]

Townhall:

Explanations of Bill Clinton's very candid endorsement of the Bush tax cuts and Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital have run rampant. Some have even said he's hoping for a Romney win to pave the way for a Hillary candidacy in 2016. But the former president's aides have a simple, if cold, reason for their boss' remarks: he's too old to hold his tongue.

The genuine explanation, say people close to Clinton, is the same one that usually is the case: He was simply saying what he really thought, but in fuzzy, free-associating language almost guaranteed to produce controversy.

This was a habit that Clinton usually learned to control as president. But the circumstances now are much different.

Clinton, say associates, while mentally sharp, is older and a step off his political game, less attuned to the need for clarity and message-discipline during interviews.

“He’s 65 years old,” said one adviser, explaining how Clinton in a CNBC interview managed to say that the economy was in recession when it is not.

Harsh. Of course, it's a ridiculous argument to make: Romney himself is 65, and Hillary will be 65 just before the 2012 election. Indeed, just weeks ago, Clinton was seen as an elder statesman of the Democratic Party, a popular figure upon whom President Obama relied to help build support for his own initiatives. One off-message speech, and suddenly he's senile?

Likely not. Instead, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air speculates that Clinton's team is feeling significant pressure from Obama's camp. The current POTUS doesn't want to run on his record, as POTUS-emeritus suggested; thus, they're trying to write off Clinton's remarks as the innocuous ramblings of a man who's reached that certain age.