HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. — The notion of a 2-for-1 Clinton presidency is back.
Recalling sunnier days of growth, low unemployment, and budget surpluses under her husband, Hillary Clinton told Americans on Monday that Bill Clinton will take the lead on the economy if she wins the White House.
What his work would be remains unclear: not a Cabinet post, she indicated. But in some way, he would be ‘‘in charge of revitalizing the economy.’’
Clinton made the remarks while campaigning in Kentucky, which will hold a Democratic primary Tuesday, along with Oregon.
Bill Clinton reigned over a strong economy, especially in the final years of his presidency, yet his economic legacy is mixed.
The late 1990s were the last period to see sustained income gains for the typical American household. Middle-income wages have stagnated since then. But his refusal to step up regulation of exotic financial instruments known as derivatives was blamed in large measure for the collapse of the financial sector years later.
The tech bubble of his time burst. And his agenda was driven by support for free trade deals, including one that gave China better access to the US market, that are held responsible by elements of both parties for driving jobs out of the country.
Still, in those pre-9/11 days, it’s a stretch of peace and prosperity like Americans haven’t seen since. And with her latest remarks, in Kentucky, Hillary Clinton is more firmly laying out how important he would be to her agenda.
The situation is highly unusual: Not only would Clinton be the first president to have a ‘‘First Dude,’’ she’d also be the first to have a former president in the East Wing.
Now, facing a two-front fight against Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, she is stressing that Bill Clinton would be an asset in her administration, particularly with the kind of Southern white voters who once backed him but now are drawn to Trump.
‘‘Tell me anybody else who’s been here as much or knows us as well,’’ said Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, referring to Bill Clinton, during a campaign event in West Virginia. Hillary Clinton lost that primary — a state her husband won by double digits — earlier this month to Sanders.
The GOP front-runner and his team are making a different political bet. They see Bill Clinton’s history of scandal as ripe for exploitation.
Still, in recent weeks, Clinton has begun sketching out a bit more of a role for her husband. She told West Virginians that he’d focus on helping economically distressed communities, like those in coal country, reinvent themselves in a changing economy.
‘‘You’ll get sick of seeing him,’’ she said earlier this month. ‘‘This gets him really, really excited.’’
Spokesman Nick Merrill said Clinton would be getting ahead of herself to talk about ‘‘any sort of formalized role for anyone. But, he added, Bill Clinton ‘‘has a lot to offer and it would be foolish not to use that in some capacity.’’
Including superdelegates, Clinton currently has 2,240 delegates to Bernie Sanders’ 1,473, with 2,383 needed to secure the nomination.
