When I started this piece I found myself writing the same story everyone else has about the emergence of President Clinton as the star of the 2012 election cycle. His incredible Democratic convention speech made the arguments on behalf of President Obama better than the candidate himself – leaving pundits speechless and the party faithful hungry for more. And by cleverly extending his speech into the local evening news, he grabbed millions of viewers otherwise disinterested in politics.

The Obama cultivation and inclusion of Clinton in his reelection effort is no real surprise. Recent polling shows that 68 percent of Americans view Clinton favorably – 18 points higher than President Obama and more than 50 points higher than Congress. President Clinton oversaw the greatest economic expansion in recent history, creating 22 million jobs under his watch. But it’s not just his record that is appealing. Democrats appreciate the Clintons more in hindsight because they remember not only his ability to connect with voters, and enthusiasm for the Party faithful – but also his political acumen. Everyone misses the old days, when no one was above a good partisan fight, but politics wasn’t nasty or mean.

If Obama’s embrace of President Clinton is inherently logical, the opposite could be said about Mitt Romney. At first glance, it is stunning to think that the GOP nominee would ever see any advantage in playing up Clinton. But it was the best option he had.

While the GOP faithful still hold President Ronald Reagan in the highest esteem–and Mitt Romney referred to Reagan during the GOP primary–Reagan’s presidency was almost 25 years ago. A nice chunk of the electorate just isn’t familiar with Reagan, and think of him more as an historical figure rather than relevant to the politics of today. So while invoking Reagan might work with seniors, Reagan is not a useful standard-bearer for the voters Romney needed to reach.

Of course, Mitt Romney’s campaign also knew they couldn’t associate with President George W. Bush — the person most Americans still believe wrecked our economy and got us entangled in an unnecessary war in Iraq that cost us dearly in both lives and monies. Romney has gone out of his way not to discuss George W. Bush, and Romney is quick to change the subject if the Bush Presidency comes up.

So that left Clinton as the ‘go to’ guy. Romney may have made the calculation that Obama and Clinton had too much baggage between them to ever join forces. He was wrong.

I also believe that Romney may see much in common with President Clinton: a former governor with a focus on creating jobs; a politician who worked across the aisle when necessary, and a politician who believes he can triangulate himself in the model of Clinton. The Clinton association for Romney is about appealing to the middle, about beginning perceived as moderate. But here’s where Romney miscalculated.

The politics of the Great Recession are very different than in the Clinton era. In our hyper-partisan, Internet-fueled news cycle, Romney’s attempts to grab the middle just aren’t credible. Voters are paying more attention to the details than ever before. In the Bush years, they felt they were sold a false bill of goods – and they are now sensitive to Romney’s blatant flip-flops, like claiming credit for the auto bailout and now supportive of leaving Afghanistan in 2014 — that are spin rather than moderation.

We are now days way from determining the next President of the Untied States, and this is arguable an even more important election than 4 years ago.  We have two very different choices for president with very different ideas about government.

While both candidates have tried to associate themselves with President Clinton, only one can do so with credibility. There is a reason Bill Clinton is happily packing his schedule full of events to help re-elect President Obama, which I’m certain Clinton is enjoying. He knows that America cannot afford a President who says one thing, but will do another.  We had 8 years of that recipe and it was a disaster.

I know Bill Clinton, and Mitt Romney is no Bill Clinton. And the good news is the American people know it too.

Most recently, Clyde Williams was a congressional candidate for CD 13.  He served as National Political Director at the Democratic National Committee under President Barack Obama, Domestic Policy Advisor to President Bill Clinton, a Vice President at the Center for American Progress, and as Deputy Chief of Staff of the U S Department of Agriculture. You can follow him on Facebook@clydewilliams2012, on twitter@clyde2012.

Christopher Moore is a writer living in Manhattan. He’s available through email at ccmnj@aol.com and on Twitter @cmoorenyc.

Photo by Joan Marcus.

There’s a great star to be found in Leap of Faith – and it isn’t Raul Esparza

Somewhere, 1992 is laughing its ass off. Sister Act, which hit screens almost exactly twenty years ago, is a solid Main Stem hit, while two less-successful films also released that same year – Newsies and Leap of Faith – have just added their names to marquees alighting the Great White Way. Whodathunk that the year that saw the Heights learn how to talk to an angel and Bill Clinton evict George H. W. Bush from his White House bunker would bear so much fruit?

Alas, not all of it is ripe for the picking. Leap is an underwhelming star vehicle that even most Steve Martin purists leave out when combing his oeuvre about an evangelist suddenly changed when making a pit stop in a small town full of aw shucks hucksters. The film source may have been less inherently musical, but it shares theatrical DNA with everything from The Music Man to Elmer Gantry to The Rainmaker and its musical adaptation, 110 in the Shade. Leap writer James Cercone and Tony-winner Warren Leight (Side Man) have been brought in to remold the work, but, as directed by Christopher Ashley, it’s still a few prayers short of a miracle.

One problem is Cercone and Leight’s decision to frame the evening as though theatergoers were actually attending a revival themselves in the St. James Theatre, with Jonas Nightingale (Raúl Esparza) and his scheming sister Sam (a good Kendra Kassebaum) calling people sinners and taking tithes from those in their seats. It’s discomfiting and doesn’t fully work as the show’s actual plot – small town Kansas sheriff Marla (Jessica Phillips) is onto Jonas’ game, and then later, into him – unfolds back in more traditional rhythms. The book also withholds two key pieces of information regarding Jonas. Was he ever a good guy and a true believer? And which members of his traveling choir believe in him, and which know he’s a fraud?

Another problem is actually its raison d’etre: star Raúl Esparza, who exists in an odd limbo between what Jonas needs to be and who he needs to be for Jonas. Esparza is a smart actor but one who hews to the dark side of delivery. Jonas needs to be a jaded manipulator but one who, incredulously, lets himself be won over at the particular juncture in his life at which Leap takes a peak. Esparza’s Jonas never feels truly threatening – would he really bilk a wedding ring from a grieving widow? – but he also never seems to buy into the show’s messages of redemption and community; he’s too savvy for platitudes. The performer seems to stand outside of Jonas rather than immerse himself in the man. And without a believable transformation, the sturdier stuff around the center weakens.

That stuff includes Kecia Lewis-Evans as Jonas’ choir leader, Ida Mae, as well as Krystal Joy Brown and Smash’s Leslie Odom Jr. as her children, both bathed in the gospel that Leap strives to include. All three of them are excellent, as is Phillips, who enjoys several of Leap’s best ballads. Other songs, however, from the team of Alan Menken and Glenn Slater (who also did the music for the Sister Act adaptation), are a mixed bag of exalt-us jubilance and plaintive country time-fillers, like “Rise Up!,” “If You’re Faith is Strong Enough,” and “Fox in the Henhouse.” Very few are memorable, as is Sergio Trujillo’s choreography.

I’ve saved one piece of the Leap puzzle for last: young Talon Ackerman, who plays Jake, Marla’s disabled pre-teen son. This wheelchair-bound character has faith in the power of healing and in Jonas, and through his eyes, we see just what draws a soul to these revivals. And whenever this talented, present performer took the stage, I became a believer too.

Leap of Faith          

St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th St. 212-239-6200. http://leapoffaithbroadway.com/ $47 – 137. Thru May 13.

SHAKESPEARE’S LADIES
Just about all of Shakespeare’s characters are iconic symbols of the human condition,
and the same can be said of the heroines within his tales. The experimental Shakespeare ensemble Dark Lady Players will be performing Shakespeare’s Annunciation parodies Sunday, March 25, at 5 p.m. at West-Park Presbyterian Church, 165 W. 86th St. The event is free to attend and will feature actors portraying Juliet, Desdemona, Olivia and Ophelia in part-comic religious allegories for the Virgin Mary.
WILD BIRDS NEED CASH
The Wild Bird Fund’s wildlife rehabilitation and education facility, located on the Upper West Side, will be NYC’s first wildlife rehabilitation and education center. To raise money  for equipment and medical supplies, the fund will host “Wild Bird Fund Takes Flight,” Tuesday April 3, 6:30–9 p.m., at “Birdie” Vanderbilt’s mansion at 60 E. 93rd St. The group is hosting a multitude of events that evening, including a speech from acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen.

Other events will include a self-guided tour of the historic Vanderbilt residence and the Carlton Hobbs antiques gallery, a video tour of the new center, a performance by Dzul Dance, jazz renditions by Jennifer Dudley of the song “It’s for the Birds,” a showing of baby birds, squirrels, owls and hawks, a silent auction and hors d’oeuvres and wine. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased by contacting Beverly Mastropolo at 917-848-0044 or online at http://bit.ly/GCXNPr.

FAMED DEBATERS ON GOD, GAYS AND GUNS
On Thursday, March 29, Dr. Cornel West and the Rev. Osagyefo Sekou will host a discussion about Sekou’s new book, Gods, Gays, and Guns: Essays on
Religion and the Future of Democracy, at West-Park Presbyterian Church, 165 W. 86th St. West is one of the nation’s most prolific authors and a known critical activist who participated at Occupy Wall Street last year. Sekou is considered one of the most influential religious leaders of the current generation. His work as an on-the-ground activist has landed him in post-Katrina New Orleans and the World Culture Center in Berlin. There is no advance ticketing and doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call the Rev. Bob Brashear at 646-541-3329.

LOCAL COUNCIL CANDIDATE HIRES BIG GUN
Ken Biberaj, the latest candidate to declare for the soon-tobe-vacant Upper West Side City
Council seat, has hired veteran political consultant firm Sheinkopf Ltd. to work on his campaign. The hire signals a serious move from a largely unknown candidate; Hank Sheinkopf has worked on many high-profile political campaigns, like President Bill Clinton’s re-election and Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s last election.

“As an Upper West Sider myself, I’m thrilled to work with a candidate who has such a compelling vision for the neighborhood’s future,” said Sheinkopf in a statement.

“We’re working hard, speaking with voters and small business owners to convey my campaign’s message,” Biberaj said.

Biberaj previously told the West Side Spirit in an interview that one of his top priorities is to get out in the community and introduce himself. Biberaj, who serves as vice-president of the Russian Tea Room and works in commercial real estate, is up against three other candidates who have each served on Community Board 7 and
are arguably more familiar faces on the Upper West Side.

JAPANESE RHYTHM: Taiko drummers from Soh Daiko perform during Japan Fest at the American Museum of Natural History. Visit www. nypress.com for more photos of the group in action. Photo Credit: Andrew Schwartz

FREE TAX HELP ON THE UWS

Sitting down to go over the taxes is an event most would equate with torture. However, residents of the Upper West Side can rest easy with several free sessions that condense the processes behind filling out tax forms. The AARP will host a number of sessions at several libraries and community centers during tax season to educate the public about filing their taxes:

• The Bloomingdale Library, 150 W. 100th St., will host classes every Friday through April 13 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Call 212-222-8030 for more information.

• The Morningside Heights Library, 2900 Broadway, will host a session every Monday and Saturday through April 16 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Call 212-666- 5099 for more information.

• The Riverside Library, 127 Amsterdam Ave., will hold classes every Thursday through April 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 212-870-1810 for more information.

• The Project FIND Hamilton Senior Center, 141 W. 73rd St., will hold classes every Tuesday through April 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 212-787-7710 for more
information.

• The West Side Campaign Against Hunger, 263 W. 86th St., lower level will hold classes every Tuesday through April 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Call 212-362-3662 for more information.

• Community Tax Aid at Goddard Riverside Community Center at 647 Columbus Ave. near 92 Street will cater to single adults with income of up to $25,000 or families with income of up to $45,000. Bring last year’s tax forms and other relevant documents. Class will be held every Tuesday through April 10 from 6–8 p.m.

Clinton was interviewed by Matthew Bishop, a writer for The Economist magazine and co-author of the recently released Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World, with Michael Green.
Though the intersection between philanthropy and capitalism was the main topic of the evening, Bishop began by asking Clinton for his thoughts on the current economic crisis and the efforts by the Bush administration and Congress to mitigate the problems.
Clinton approved of the federal bailout in the form it had taken by that evening, though he added that the government had few options at this point because the financial crisis had been ignored for so long.
“Now we’ve got to save the system and start real growth again,” he said.
He pointed out that whoever wins the presidential election, campaign promises will need to be scaled back in the face of a worsening economy and mounting deficit, heightening the need for philanthropists.
“If the government is not going to be able to spend some of what it might have spent,” Clinton said, “then it’s going to be more important than ever that the rest of us step into the breach.”
One important area of need, he said, was biomedical research. He noted that though autism rates have tripled in the last 15 years, no one knows why or what to do about it, and private donors can help fund efforts which government cannot or will not assist.
When asked about presidential politics, Clinton said he believes Sen. Barack Obama will and should win on Nov. 4. He also admitted that while believed his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, would have made a great president, he knows that he would not have been able to spend as much time in philanthropy had she been in the White House.
Now that he is out of politics, he said he believes his current occupation in philanthropy is the only thing that makes sense for him.
“You don’t really need anything, you don’t really want anything, except to be useful,” he said of his post-presidency activities. Referring to why that led him to launch the Clinton Global Initiative, he said, “I think I would be a real schmuck if I didn’t do it-it would be unconscionable. And because it’s fun.”