When Bill Clinton left office, it wasn't under a dark cloud of humiliation. It wasn't the disgrace that former Governor Eliot Spitzer faced. Most Republicans hated Clinton before he even took office, so nothing really changed there. And among Democrats, Clinton's approval ratings rose.

The old Bill Clinton was youthful and eternally optimistic. Downing a couple of Big Macs and then jogging on the White House lawn was the kind of contradiction we loved about Bill Clinton. He was human.

Clinton's post-presidency appeal has always been looked upon as the Democrat's most valuable asset. Some people even argued that Al Gore would have won had he not distanced himself from his former running mate.

That's changed.

On the campaign trail for his wife's presidential run, Clinton comes across angry, even pious. As bad as this economy has turned, it's hard to remember the booming Clinton years. Granted, the former president is defending his wife - it's got to get personal - but the man who was once dubbed America's first black president, seems old and cranky and very white.

You could almost mistake him for a Republican.