ABC: Bill Clinton 'Lavished Praise' On Sarah Palin, 'Mistake To Underestimate Her'

Bill Clinton supports Barack Obama and makes it clear he hopes Obama wins the general election in November. He agrees more with Obama/Biden policies than he does with McCain/Palin issues and he states the recent economic problems will bode well for Obama. He states in the extended interview with Maria Bartiromo from CNBC "But, I think, on the issues that matter to our future, the Obama-Biden team is, is more right. And I believe they're gonna win. But, I think that it will be competitive until the end." ABC's Political Radar states it wasn't exactly a "ringing endorsement," for Obama and Clinton went on to say "Barring some unforeseen development like in-- something happens in the debates we don't know about. I-- I-- I-- it may not be apparent in the polls until last week or two of the election. But, I believe that it will be apparent on election day. I think that-- I think Senator Obama will win this election." The portion of the interview shown in the video above comes after Clinton tells Bartiromo "I've never concealed my admiration and affection for Sen. McCain. I think he's a great man," and they go on to discuss the upcoming elections. When Bartiromo asks Clinton if he was surprised at the bounce John McCain received in the polls right after announcing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, Clinton speaks about Palin, in what is described by ABC as "lavishing praise" on her.

"No, she's a-- she's an instinctively effective candidate," he said, "And with a compelling story. I think it was exciting to some, that, that she was a woman. It was exciting that she was from Alaska. It was exciting that she's sort of like the person she is. And she grew up in a, came up in a political culture and a religious culture that is probably well to the right of the American center. But, she didn't basically define herself in those terms," Clinton said.

"She handled herself very well," he said, "I get why she's done so well. She, she's, it's a mistake to underestimate her. She's got good intuitive skills. They're significant."

The interview went on to discuss whether Hillary Clinton would run again, with Bill not committing one way or the other stating that Hillary will try to be a "national voice as a result of her campaign on economic and healthcare and energy issues that got her into this presidential race in the first place," continuing on to say he and Hillary were going to put aside "personal politics" for a while.