As scandals go the “job for Joe Sestak” dustup is pretty small potatoes. Ordinarily it would have disappeared after a couple of news cycles. That it didn’t is testimony to being careful about who you bring into your inner circle.

Having that old rascal, Bill Clinton, in the middle of things is what’s giving this thing legs. It’s like the ’90s all over. The facts of the scandal aren’t as important as the perception that there’s more to it than we are privy to. Bill is wheeling and dealing and it’s so much fun to try and figure out exactly what he’s really been up to. And, maybe more to the point, he knows were on the chase and loves every minute of the game.

The problem is that Obama isn’t Clinton and doesn’t want any part of that comparison. Intrigue and political games may be part and parcel of the job, but he doesn’t want the public to think so. He’s out of his element here, which is bad enough, but to make matters worse he risks getting stuck in that Clinton shadow.

Why oh why the Obama administration ever invited Bill and Hillary into the game has always been beyond me. Giving her the Secretary of State job conferred legitimacy that could only eventually work to his detriment. Now he has to be careful about how he lays any blame on Bill lest it reflect on her. Better to have left these two to their own devices. Mischief they would have certainly made but it would have been nothing more and his hands would have been free to brush them aside.

I do have to admit, that it is all sort of pleasing in a nostalgic sort of way.