Praising Clinton, new DNC member Wisniewski wants to examine superdelegate rules

DENVER - The Clinton legacy took a battering in the recent Democratic Party primary, but Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) says most of the landed blows are unjust, and argued that only the former president could convincingly argue on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) the way he did tonight.

"In 1992, the Republicans called Clinton too inexperienced and that’s what they’re trying to say now about Barack Obama," says Wisniewski in the Spotted Dog bar at the Inverness Hotel, paraphrasing one of Clinton’s key arguments from his speech at the Democratic National Convention tonight.

"Clinton proved to be one of the best presidents of the 20th Century," added the assemblymen, who is poised to begin his term as a Democratic National Committeeman at the end of this week, where he is interested in examining possible reforms to the system.

President Clinton balanced the federal budget, and created surpluses approaching a trillion dollars.

"With Clinton, we were on the right track to do all the things we have talked about doing, but now after Bush, we’re back to square one in borrowing tons of money and not pursuing alternative fuels," Wisniewski says. "I also think President Clinton successfully brought together the middle of the political spectrum. He was able to reach out across traditional barriers."

As he looks ahead to serving on the Democratic National Committee, Wisniewski says he wants to consider trying to make certain changes to fine tune the primary election process.

"We need to re-examine the rules and ascertain whether we really need superdelegates," Wisniewski says. "As it stands now, superdelegates are able to vote in a way that could be contrary to the popular vote, and I wonder if that is fair to the election process. I don’t know, but I think we should look into it."