If you haven't read it yet, Josh Marshall has a really good post up at TPM about the dynamic that President Clinton's higher profile has had on the primary race:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
While I agree with much of what Josh wrote about the ever-larger that role that President Clinton has played in his wife's campaign in the last couple of weeks and about the potential complications that this could create, I have to say that I think this is only part of the story. From my perspective, it seems that the potential for HRC being somewhat eclipsed by her husband's profile has been a steady, persistent undercurrent throughout this race and that I'm less than surprised that this has become an issue.
As the narratives of this race began to take shape and HRC began touting her "35 years of experience" and her preparedness to take office on the first day of her presidency, I feel like she was definitely walking a fine line between making an argument on behalf of herself for the presidency and making an argument for the return of "the Clintons." While I have no doubt that she learned a great deal about governing during President Clinton's terms as governor and president and that she certainly understands much more now about what it means to deal with constant media scrutiny and the GOP attack machine, it seemed slightly problematic that she was basically laying claim to the legacy of her husband's terms in office and that she was in danger of portraying her candidacy as a package deal.
I think people are prepared to embrace HRC as a candidate for all of those positive attributes that she showed in the days leading up to the primary in NH. I don't think, however, that people are as prepared to embrace refighting the battles of the '90s (that even Josh admits were somewhat exhausting). And turning Bill loose to do battle with the press and the other leading candidate**, in addition to detracting from the image that she had built as a disciplined and meticulously prepared candidate, dredges up a lot of unpleasant, lingering memories for all too many people. While I have no doubt that Obama will have his own battles to fight if he is the democratic candidate or if he were to actually be elected (and that this will test his ability to cast himself as a somehow transformative figure), at least these are new battles that we haven't already shed blood over in the past.
**Please note that I'm not trying to cast aspersions on Edwards' place in the race, but this has been, at least from the media's perspective, a two-person race in the last few weeks.