Cultural and political image of Hillary Clinton During this time, the blended name "Billary" came to be used to refer to Bill and Hillary Clinton as a pair. Sidney Johnson, president of the Arkansas Education Association, said of the couple that "[s]omething would come down and you wouldn't know which one of them thought of it, where Bill stopped and Hillary began. That's why we called them 'Billary.'" One observer notes that "[t]he Clintons originally warmed to Billary because it suggested the public would get two smart politicians for one, but it soon became a term of derision for those who saw Hillary Rodham Clinton as too
Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential primary campaign that the former President "needs to stop." Bill Clinton did subsequently maintain a lower profile on the campaign, relying on standard talking points and rarely mentioning Obama by name, or if he did, praising him: "I'm not against anybody. I'm "for" Hillary ... If you disagree, you have another very attractive choice." Bill Clinton said that in retrospect, "Everything I have said has been factually accurate, but I think the mistake I made was to think I was a spouse just like any other spouse who could defend his candidate. I think I can promote Hillary but not defend her