Former US President Bill Clinton claimed today that the "vast rightwing conspiracy" that hounded him and nearly drove him from office has set its sights on Barack Obama.
The former president was referring to the web of politicians, media personalities, various internet groups and grassroots conservative activists who have opposed the new president at every turn.
Clinton, the last Democrat to hold the White House before Obama, referred to the term first used by Hillary Clinton in 1998, when she defended Clinton against the Monica Lewinsky scandal that threatened to topple Clinton's presidency.
She described as a "vast rightwing conspiracy" the forces led by special prosecutor Ken Starr, who spent millions of dollars and several years building a case against Clinton in connection with a failed land deal in Arkansas. The investigation ultimately led to Clinton's impeachment and trial in the Senate over the Lewinsky affair. He was acquitted.
Asked yesterday on NBC's Meet the Press whether there was still a rightwing conspiracy, Clinton replied: "You bet. Sure it is. It's not as strong as it was because America has changed demographically. But it's as virulent as it was."
Clinton said that the conspiracy has focused on Obama and, "their agenda seems to be wanting him to fail".
Clinton's remarks came after Jimmy Carter, another Democratic former president, said that racism motivates much of the animosity against Obama.
In recent months, legions of furious conservatives, spurred on by some of the same media personalities who led the charge against Clinton, have waged a vicious campaign against Obama, accusing him of being a socialist, a fascist, and a foreign agent out to destroy America. The opposition has become most agitated by his effort to reform the US healthcare system.
Earlier this month, hundreds of thousands of conservatives held a massive anti-Obama rally in Washington. The protesters, who were almost entirely white, carried signs denouncing Obama as a Nazi, a lump of human waste and the Joker from Batman.
Some claimed that Obama was not an American citizen, believing he was born in Kenya or Indonesia. In at least three instances, conservative protesters have turned up at anti-Obama rallies carrying guns. Threats against the president's life are up 400% from those against former president George W Bush, according to a book by Ronald Kessler.
Many in the Republican party ranks are uncomfortable with the vitriol aimed at Obama. But party leaders have purged most of the moderates from the national leadership, and the rightwingers in power believe the party stands to benefit from a fired-up base.
Meanwhile, the party lacks a strong leader, leaving conservatives to take their cues from radio talk show hosts and others who are not accountable to voters and who do not have to follow up their rhetoric with actual governance.
Clinton said that while the animosity may hurt Obama's poll numbers, it is not good for the Republicans in the long term. "Fundamentally, he and his team have a positive agenda for America," he said.