Nearly 20 years after he left the White House, Bill Clinton is still sought after for advice by some Democrats running for president. But the names on his dance card in recent months underscore how much his standing in the party has changed.
So far, none of the party's early front-runners has had a formal meeting with Clinton. Nor have the women who are running in the historically diverse primary field.
Instead, Clinton has spoken mostly with male candidates who are considered longshots for the Democratic nomination, including Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, former Housing secretary Julian Castro and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney.
The 72-year-old former president rarely offers tactical advice about how to structure a campaign, according to people with knowledge of the conversations. He's said to be well-aware that technology and campaign tactics have significantly evolved since he was last on the ballot in 1996.
Indeed, some of Clinton's signature policies — including the North America Free Trade Agreement and the 1994 crime bill — are out of step with the mainstream of the Democratic Party. Clinton himself has acknowledged that the crime bill worsened the problem of mass incarcerations, particularly among black men.
2020 wouldn't be the first time Clinton has been sidelined in part because of his personal transgressions. His own vice president, Al Gore, distanced himself from Clinton during the 2000 campaign, a move some Democrats still see as a mistake. But views on Clinton shifted, and by 2012, he was considered one of the strongest surrogates for Barack Obama's re-election campaign.