Some politicians dominate the political landscape for decades, some as elected officials, others as key members of political parties and/or of the administration. There are those who think that such dominant figures should, at some point in time, take up a well-deserved retirement and allow the space for others. However, the experience and political clout of politicians who have been in politics for long makes them useful assets for their allies, especially in their electoral projects. Also, they serve as an inhibiting factor to personality cult. I think that this is exactly the case with the Clintons and that is why they may be very useful to the Democratic Party in 2020.

William Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III; August 19, 1946) had long-career as a politician. Before winning elections to become the 42^nd president of the United States of America in 1993, at age 46, he served as Attorney General and then Governor of Arkansas. His wife, Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is also a seasoned politician. She served as Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009 and then the 67^th Secretary of State of the United States of America from 2009 to 2013. Bill and Rodham Clinton have a daughter, Chelsea Victoria Clinton, 39.

The Clintons are members of the Democratic Party. Rodham Clinton ran for Democratic primaries against Barack Obama in 2008 and then against Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential poll. While both bids were unsuccessful, Mrs. Clinton won the popular vote against Trump. The 2020 Democrats and particularly the Democratic candidate 2020 presidential poll cannot afford the mistake of not tapping into the experience of the Clintons in electioneering. This should be the case regardless of Rodham Clinton’s recent fracas with Tulsi Gabbard and that gave her the tag of political lightning rod.

The Clintons have political clout such that their endorsement of this or that political candidate can project such a candidate. This is not something the Democrats may want to miss out on. The Democratic Party has fielded some of the best Presidents in the USA in recent years and Bill Clinton stands out. In addition, the presence of the Clintons gives the democratic party one advantage that the Republican party badly needs right now. The Clinton’s serve as an inhibiting factor to personality cult which appears to be taking deep roots in the Republican party with the death of John McCain. It is important for politicians not to be viewed as indispensable which is the image Trump has been projecting in recent months exactly because of the growing absence of counterweights who can check such impulses in the Republican Party.

The Clintons may have been in politics for a long time but they have not outlived their usefulness to both the Democratic Party and US Democracy. The 2020 Democrats and the Democratic candidate for the 2020 poll have in the Clintons a major advantage that they can use for victory. They must consult with the Clintons and draw from their experience as well as use the political clout of the Clintons to their advantage. Also, the Clintons cannot be “shelved” at this critical point when presidential impunity has become the norm rather than the exception.