By ANDY BARR | 6/28/10 10:25 AM EDT
Clinton, speaking in Cape Town, South Africa as part of the Fortune/Time/CNN Global Forum, said that public perception of the president has lagged behind what he has done to benefit the country.
“I think he's done a better job than he's given credit for,” Clinton said. “I feel very strongly about this.”
The former president, who, like Obama, saw his polling numbers dip dramatically during his second year in office, said that Obama is not fully “responsible” for how he is perceived, adding that a dip in approval is “not avoidable” in an economic downturn.
“Until people feel good about their own lives, they're not going to feel good about their president,” Clinton said. “And there's nothing you can do about that.”
“He is a brilliant, articulate and, I think, an exceedingly empathetic person,” the former president said of Obama.
