Books and Arts; Book Review; Advice from Bill Clinton;Yes, we can;

Recently the American public's growing criticism of Barack Obama has been accompanied by warmer feelings for the Clintons. More and more Democrats now wonder if they should have chosen Hillary in his place, and it is increasingly common for the president's lacklustre handling of the economy to be contrasted with the surer leadership and much happier economic times when Bill ruled the White House. Mr Clinton has now written a book full of ideas about how to revive the economy and get America's unemployed millions back to work—advice that, by drawing further attention to their contrasting styles, Mr Obama may find less helpful than Mr Clinton intends.

Mr Clinton says he was prompted to write by the success in the 2010 mid-term elections of what he calls the “antigovernment” movement, which has prevented much of the action that is necessary to tackle joblessness. He bemoans the end of an era when Republicans and Democrats in Washington, DC, could disagree on policies but essentially share a common set of facts and the view that, one way or another, government was there to help.

Still, he can't resist mentioning his joke on the campaign trail that “my feelings were hurt because I wasn't the Tea Party's favourite politician”—a roundabout way of tooting his own horn, having left office with a budget surplus, higher employment, fewer people on welfare, lower taxes for much of the population and having scrapped lots of government red tape.

The book has two main strengths that Mr Obama would do well to emulate. First, while arguing, rightly, that in the short run the American economy urgently needs a boost from government spending, it spells out in simple terms why Uncle Sam also needs a credible strategy for sorting out the country's long-term fiscal problems. Mr Clinton shows far more enthusiasm for the report of the Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction commission than has so far been mustered by its creator, Mr Obama.

Second, Mr Clinton is at his famously wonkish best in scouring America and the world (Singapore and Germany, in particular) to find practical ideas for getting people back to work. Many of these require “smart government”, which more often than not means partnering with private businesses and non-profit organisations. Some ideas are even borrowed from the Republicans, including at least one from his old foe, Newt Gingrich. Mr Clinton is especially keen on the idea of modernising America's infrastructure and creating environmentally friendly “green jobs”, but he also sees merit in more trade liberalisation, immigration and getting at the country's huge reserves of cheap natural gas through fracking.

Some of the former president's suggestions are not as convincing as others. Yet, through the sheer number and range of his ideas, Mr Clinton manages to convey a badly needed sense of hope. With an optimism that is currently in short supply among his countrymen, he concludes by predicting that America will rise yet again; after all, “for more than 200 years, everyone who's bet against the United States has lost.” In other words, as Mr Obama once put it, “Yes, we can.”