If you are wearing a raincoat and thick gloves to protect you from the mud, don't miss the stories in The Hill and elsewhere about Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulSecond GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP senator to quarantine after coronavirus exposure The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill MORE (R-Ky.) taking a Monica Lewinsky cheap shot at the highly popular former President Bill Clinton William (Bill) Jefferson ClintonBarr says Ginsburg 'leaves a towering legacy' Trump reacts to Ginsburg's death: 'An amazing woman who led an amazing life' Jimmy Carter remembers Ruth Bader Ginsburg as 'a beacon of justice' MORE.

In my last column, I warned Republicans about what I called the Benghazi disease, which is the obsessive pursuit of right-wing fetish stories that backfire against the GOP.

ADVERTISEMENT

Paul has now added the latest entry in the desperate Republican attempt to smear the Clintons. Bill Clinton was an excellent president. He is one of the most popular political leaders in America today, and he is married to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhat Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE, who today towers above potential GOP opponents in the 2016 presidential sweepstakes.

After an eternity of failed efforts by the GOP to promote the Benghazi story, Clinton still polls far better than her likely opponents. Does Paul seriously believe that American voters want to hear about Lewinsky? Is Paul so dependent on right-wing, Clinton-hating zealots that he believes it is smart politics to attack such a popular former president over a puny issue such as the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal that voters have long ago forgotten?

Paul is imploding. Lowbrow attacks such as this are unworthy of anyone seeking the presidency of the United States. They turn the idea of a Rand Paul presidency into a late-night comedian's joke.

Paul should know better than to attack Bill Clinton over Monica Lewinsky, and voters know better than to take him seriously for the presidency.

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and Bill Alexander, then chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. degree in international financial law from the London School of Economics. Contact him at brentbbi@webtv.net.