Bill Clinton Joins Hillary Campaign

Slick Willie is back. Former president Bill Clinton, forced into the political shadows by his wife Hillary's presidential campaign, is being let off the leash this week. And it is happening on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

In an increasing sign of the key role Bill Clinton is starting to play in Hillary's bid to return to the White House, he will be appearing on Winfrey's daytime chatshow to plug his new book.

The tome, Giving, tackles the subject of philanthropy in the modern world but the underlying motive is clearly to boost Hillary's campaign by highlighting it on one of the most popular TV shows in America. The show's audience also reaches directly to the middle ground that Hillary must win over if she is going to succeed. It is also a direct blow to her rival, Senator Barack Obama, whom Oprah has prominently supported.

The appearance marks the most highprofile event yet by Clinton, and he is playing an increasingly prominent role in his wife's campaign, both behind the scenes and now out on the stump. 'He's the best thing that she's got going for her on some levels. He's her Karl Rove,' said Trevor Parry-Giles, a Clinton expert at the University of Maryland.

After being kept largely in the background at the start of the year, Clinton has been speaking at rallies and private donor gatherings in support of Hillary. He has been particularly active in fund raising. Last week Clinton spent several days touring upstate New York speaking in front of crowds of hundreds of paying guests. At one event people paid $50 (£25) to get in and $1,000 to go to a reception where Clinton was the main attraction. The visit is thought to have raised at least several hundred thousand dollars for his wife's already overflowing campaign coffers.

Clinton is still a hugely popular figure with Democratic activists and party members who vote in the nomination campaign. 'He excites traditional Democrats like no one else in the country,' said Larry Haas, a former official in the Clinton White House.

But having Clinton take a prominent role in the campaign is also a risk. The ex-president still reminds many Americans of the sex scandals that dogged his political career. Republicans will take any opportunity to refer to past scandals or believe that other skeletons may still lurk in the closets of the Clintons' marriage. Unfounded rumors about Clinton's sex life often swirl around political circles in America.

But so far Clinton hitting the campaign trail for Hillary looks set to only strengthen what is already a front-running team. A recent Gallup poll had Hillary beating Obama by 21 percent. She is also ahead in most polls pitting her against any potential Republican rival.