WASHINGTON — Love him or hate him, you won't find Bill Clinton's name on the ballot anywhere this year. But plenty of folks who worked for the 42nd president are lining up to fill that void.
Several veterans of the Clinton Cabinet are running for governor in campaigns across the country, including former Atty. Gen. Janet Reno in Florida.
Today, former Energy Secretary Bill Richardson is expected to formally announce his gubernatorial bid in New Mexico. Former Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich earlier this week kicked off his bid to govern Massachusetts. And Andrew Cuomo, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is running in New York.
Another batch of former White House aides and others with posts in the last administration are aiming to join the former first lady, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), in Congress.
The prospect of renewed political life for these Clinton acolytes is sure to torment those Republicans who despised Clinton from the day he entered the White House to the day he left it.
But at heart, the phenomenon appears to be a typical show of political ambition by former public servants who believe their careers are far from over, even if the Clinton presidency is.
One virtual certainty is that any candidate this year with a resume link to the Clinton administration will attract extra attention.
"The day people stop being somewhat obsessed with Bill Clinton, I'll have a party at my house," said former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart. "Everybody's invited. But I'm not calling the caterer yet."
Lockhart, who is not running for office, said he's gotten a number of letters from his former colleagues in search of cash for their campaigns. "It's getting expensive for me."
For Republicans, there are pluses and minuses to the boomlet of Clinton-connected candidates. On one hand, many of them get lots of free press and some will be able to raise lots of money, making them potentially formidable opponents. On the other, the GOP is well-schooled in the art of attacking all things Clinton.
"Apparently these former Clinton staffers share a great deal of the love for the limelight that their old boss certainly enjoyed," said Rudy Fernandez, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. "That apparently was an addictive thing running through the Clinton administration. They're having trouble accepting the role of regular citizens."
