Clinton works to save Democrats this fall

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Some Democrats express concern about the popularity of former U.S. President Clinton, while others say he connects with voters while stumping for candidates.

Clinton has embarked on a full tilt sprint to rescue his party, which political analysts predict will receive an old-fashioned whuppin' Nov. 2, and use his credibility as the only president in modern times to balance the federal budget to defend President Obama's economic policies, The Washington Post said.

Some Democrats said they're concerned that Clinton, out of office for a decade, is a bigger draw than Obama and the party's current leaders.

"Bill Clinton is not going to live forever, and it's time for the Democratic Party to develop other voices," Bob Rucker, a journalism professor, told the Post as he left a Clinton rally in California.

Polls indicate Clinton remains a popular figure nationally, even if his party is on the outs with voters.

"Look, folks, I've seen this movie before, in 1994," Clinton said during a rally in Everett, Wash. "I called the president the other day, and I said, 'Relax. They haven't said anything about you they didn't say about me. The only reason they're being nice to me right now is because I can't run for anything anymore.'"

Clinton connects with "how normal 'walking-around' folks are feeling," said Paul Begala, a former top strategist in the Democratic Party. "Both the right and the left have mocked that I-feel-your-pain empathy, but Americans have always liked it. It's the core of him, even more than the brain. It's real."