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Matthews: Bring back Bill Clinton

Let me finish tonight with an idea. It's a bigger one than usual - because, in many ways, it's a life saver. Bill Clinton as Secretary of the Treasury.

Let me finish tonight with an idea. It's a bigger one than usual - because, in many ways, it's a life saver. Bill Clinton as Secretary of the Treasury. Let me give you the case, although I think merely the thought is enough to make it.

The former president spends an hour a day right now trying to grasp the economic challenges facing our country and the world. He does it as a thoughtful person who realizes that that old campaign slogan of his - "It's the economy, stupid!' - is more vital than ever.

Here is a man who presided over a fabulous economic period in American history. Before there were the disastrous Bush policies that brought us the catastrophe of 2008, long before there was the current job-poor recovery, we saw sunlight. We had new products people wanted to buy. We had new jobs, millions and millions of them. And we had hope.

Why not bring that back?

The politics? Think about it. With Bill Clinton at Treasury and Hillary Clinton still at State, President Obama would be in sterling shape to hold the Democrats and bring confidence to the political middle, and, perhaps, given the weak Republican line-up, poach some from the other party come next November. 

I recommend this appointment for the reason that the country needs a strong economic spokesman who can translate the complicated economy into words and experiences the regular American can grasp.  Before we can recover, before we can find confidence to act, we need to know what we're facing, what we're over covering, where are strengths are, and "how" we can succeed in this new world order. 

One person has the brains, the bona fides, the political moxie, the charm, and the hard economic track record to do it.

Let's bring back Bill and put him at Treasury where everything he's done, learned and achieved will work for him, the country and our children's future.

On this idea - though it "is" my own - I say "hip, hip, HOORAY!!!"