Big Dog Bill Clinton proves he still has plenty of bite
Bill Clinton's hard work on campaign trail for Obama was key to the Democrat's re-election, and sets stage for presidential bid by his wife
After his stunning re-election victory, US President Barack Obama's first phone call went to the one man who, by dint of passion and eloquence, did more than anyone else to pull him over the top - Bill Clinton.
The charismatic former president wasn't on stage with Obama early on Wednesday in Chicago, and wasn't even mentioned in the president's victory speech.
But Obama owed Clinton big for a bravura performance on the campaign trail, using his lip-biting charm and mastery of policy to persuade voters in some of the toughest US states that "Obama's got the better argument".
Clinton, as popular now as when he was inaugurated in 1993, retains a hold over US voters and was especially valuable in reaching working-class whites in key states like Ohio and Pennsylvania that were a tough sell for Obama.
"If you vote your hopes and not your fears, if you vote for unity and not division, if you think we can all work together, you will all re-elect Barack Obama president of the United States," the snowy-haired Clinton told a Monday night rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
That message apparently carried the day on Tuesday, when voters re-elected Obama over Republican challenger Mitt Romney by substantial margins even in swing states that had appeared too close to call on election day.
Tuesday night, after receiving a call from Romney conceding defeat, Obama got on the phone and made his first call to Clinton, a campaign official said.
