Former President Clinton was on CNN this morning talking global poverty issues. I have no reason to doubt the former president’s sincerity on this issue. He has donated literally years to it and a lot of money to his initiative and I certainly applaud his efforts. It’s a shame that until the general election next year, I won’t hear his message.

The reason is simple. His wife is running for president and I can’t, for a moment, buy anything he’s pitching without a warning light going off behind my right eye, blinking annoyingly, telling me not to trust him. Its completely naïve to assume otherwise. When the Clinton’s get behind something I automatically suspect that they’re doing it for political gain. Now that Sen. Clinton is running and her husband is actively campaigning on her behalf, such a sentiment is confirmed. There is no separation between in the public/private lives of a campaigner.

I bet Bill is a bang up guy. He’s supposedly very impressive and personable. I can respect that. I just wish that his wife wasn’t running for president. Where he is affable she is cold. Where he is supposedly sincere she appears calculating. Whatever attributes he has in the public mind there is no sense in assuming that she has the same attributes nor that she will be the same kind of president.

Not only that, but I’m tired of the Clintons. I am “over” them much like I am “over” the TV show Friends. It was great in the nineties, when I was in high school and college, but now as an adult I want something a little more genuine. I am sure that Sen. Clinton has a lot of good qualities but appearing genuine is not one of them.

So I guess my point on this Sunday morning is not that I dislike the Clintons, but it is that I wish they would do something other than run for president. If they didn’t seem like they were crack-addicted to power and the White House, then they could actually do a lot of good for the world. Sen. Clinton would make a fantastic Senate Majority Leader and there have been many very bright columnists, left and right that have shown that her skills lie as a political dealmaker in the senate.

And Bill, well, he would have a lot more moral credibility on global poverty issues if he weren’t running for president with his wife. He would make a great Secretary General of the UN, or a great ambassador, or a great global statesman with Bono saving Africa. Instead of running I wish he’d go back to saving the world so I could admire the work of former President Clinton instead of suspecting the political motivations behind his good works.