WARNING FROM THE MASTER – AT 10:56 A.M. ET:  No matter what else we may think of him, Bill Clinton is a master retail politician.  He is at least partially responsible for Barack Obama's re-election in November.  (Obama will probably repay him by knifing his wife in the back.)

Clinton now is warning his party, fresh from an electoral victory, about patronizing huge segments of the American people.  He is correct.   From The Politico:

Former President Bill Clinton warned a group of top Democratic donors at a private Saturday meeting not to underestimate the passions that gun control stirs among many Americans.

“Do not patronize the passionate supporters of your opponents by looking down your nose at them,” Clinton said.

“A lot of these people live in a world very different from the world lived in by the people proposing these things,” Clinton said. “I know because I come from this world."

And...

Clinton warned the issue of guns has a special emotional resonance in many rural states — and simply dismissing pro-gun arguments is counterproductive.

While some polls show that the public by-and-large supports several proposals for increased gun control, Clinton said that it’s not the public support that matters — it’s how strongly people feel about the issue.

COMMENT:  Clinton also warned that, while Democrats have done reasonably well in presidential elections, Republicans have shown an ability to energize their base for the midterms.  Those midterms are less than two years away.  If Republicans can get their act together, they can do very well.  If they fail disastrously – say, by losing the House – there will be calls for a new party.

January 20, 2013