Liberal criticism of the Clintons has come from inside and outside the Beltway, from former supporters and colleagues. It ranges from the thinly veiled to the blatant:

Robert Reich, former Clinton labor secretary, on his personal blog: “Bill Clinton’s ill-tempered and ill-founded attacks on Barack Obama are doing no credit to the former President, his legacy, or his wife’s campaign. Nor are they helping the Democratic party … Now, sadly, we’re witnessing a smear campaign against Obama that employs some of the worst aspects of the old politics.”

Leahy: “He is not helping anyone, and certainly not helping the Democratic Party.” (The Washington Post)

Columnist Nicholas von Hoffman: “By the time Hillary and Bill have finished with Obama the real man may be unrecognizable to voters in Iowa or any place else … If he can wipe enough of the Clintonian slime off himself, Obama may be able to come out from under and explain to the world that sometimes less experience is more and better.” (The Nation)

Columnist/Editor Jonathan Chait: “Am I starting to sound like a Clinton hater? It’s a scary thought. Of course, to conservatives, it’s a delicious thought. The Wall Street Journal published a gloating editorial noting that liberals had suddenly learned “what everyone else already knows about the Clintons.” (By “everyone,” it means Republicans.) It made me wonder: Were the conservatives right about Bill Clinton all along?” (The Los Angeles Times).

Columnist Maureen Dowd: “It’s odd that the first woman with a shot at becoming president is so openly dependent on her husband to drag her over the finish line. She handed over South Carolina to him, knowing that her support here is largely derivative.” (The New York Times)

E.J. Dionne Jr.: “That’s why the Clintons’ assault on Obama is so depressing. In many ways, Obama is running the 2008 version of the 1992 Clinton campaign. You have the feeling that if Bill Clinton did not have another candidate in this contest, he’d be advising Obama and cheering him on.” (The Washington Post)

Al Sharpton: “But I think that it’s time for him to just be quiet. I think it’s time for him to stop. As one of the most outspoken people in America, there is a time to shut up, and I think that time has come.” (On The View)

Kerry: “I think you had an abuse of the truth … I mean, being an ex-president does not give you license to abuse the truth, and I think that over the last few days it’s been over the top.” (On National Journal radio)

Daschle: “… this backbiting, bitter give-and-take that we’re beginning to see more and more of, especially from the Clinton campaign. It’s wrong. Everybody know it’s wrong and it’s got to stop … It’s not presidential. It’s not in keeping with the image of a former president.”

Lee ADDS: Nad to think they all said, “The Republicans were not right to IMPEACH Clinton! HAH!