back on the bike

USA Today: It’s been a week and a day since the amazing sight of Presidents Obama and Bill Clinton in the White House press briefing room, with Obama quickly leaving Clinton alone to take questions from the press.

Clinton now says it was Obama’s spur-of-the-moment idea, part of the plan to sell the tax cut extension package that wound up passing this week.

“It was actually quite impromptu,” Clinton told CNN’s Larry King this week. “I was in the Oval Office talking to the president (Obama) about a number of things at his invitation. And he asked me what I thought about this tax compromise. And essentially I said the same thing as Bob Greenstein, the tax expert. I said I think it’s the best deal you can get at this time.

I said, ‘would you like me to call some Democrats in the House?’ He (Obama) said, ‘no, I want you to go to the briefing room and tell the press.’ I said, ‘well, I’m out of practice.’ He said, ‘you’ll be fine. It’s like riding a bicycle.’ So he dragged me in there and the rest is history.” Clinton did allow that, “it was sort of fun — but I think once every ten years is quite enough.”