Bill Clinton: Hillary's the Boss

Ex-president Bill Clinton has agreed that when it comes to speaking out on controversial issues, his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, will have the last word from here on out.

Mr. Clinton has promised to clear all future pronouncements with his wife after he embarrassed her by lobbying for the Dubai Ports World deal, which she publicly opposed.

"He knows it's Hillary's time now," an adviser close to both Clintons told the New York Daily News, which said Mrs. Clinton invoked her veto power out of fear that her husband's wayward comments might hurt her 2008 presidential bid.

"Hillary has final say," said the adviser, explaining that even Bill's staff has been warned not to comment on anything without first clearing it with Hillary's office.

"That was true in the White House during [Hillary's 2000] Senate campaign," another longtime aide told the News. "If he said the sky was blue and she said the sky was purple, then the sky was purple."

Mr. Clinton was clearly in the doghouse last week, when he tried to claim that he and his wife were in complete agreement over the ports controversy.

"I supported Hillary's position, and the news reports to the contrary were wrong," he insisted during an interview with NY1. But he didn't deny a report that he tried to recruit his former spokesman Joe Lockhart to help the deal sail through.

The Dubai ports episode isn't the first time Bill's comments caused trouble for his wife. Last September, while addressing a group of Arab students in Dubai, Mr. Clinton called the Iraq war a mistake.

Then, in a separate interview with the Ladies Home Journal, he said he thought the U.S. would lose.

"The odds are not great of our prevailing there," he predicted, calling the war his wife voted for "a quagmire."

Hillary spokeswoman Ann Lewis confirmed that the senator is now in the driver's seat, telling the News: "She is the elected official. She makes the ultimate decisions."

Mr. Clinton's spokesman Jay Carson tried to put the best face possible on his boss's new second banana status, explaining: "Anyone who says he is doing everything he can to help her get re-elected is absolutely right."