How Bill became a liability for Hillary

She may just conceivably end up as the Democratic nominee, but the default option isn't so bad for Hillary Clinton, namely an active life in the public eye as the junior senator from New York. But for her husband Bill, the nomination battle has been bad news ever since March.

Clinton left the White House eight years ago with the highest job performance rating - 65 per cent - of any president since World War Two. He was one point ahead of Ronald Reagan. That didn't mean that Americans thought much of his character and morals. Almost four out of five gave him an F on moral and ethical standards.

Two terms of George Bush Jr improved Bill's character rating no end, particularly among liberals and blue-collar workers. They forgot Clinton's endless political liaisons with the Republican right, his onslaughts on welfare, his job-exporting trade deals.