Clinton Says He Could Be ‘First Laddie'

CHICAGO — He's on the golf course. She's on the presidential campaign trail.

If that wasn't hard enough, when Senator Clinton points out to her spouse, President Clinton, that she's 15 years older than he was when he first ran for president, all she gets is tough love.

"And I say, ‘Well, nobody made you run, girl,'" Mr. Clinton joked during an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that aired yesterday.

Mr. Clinton also suggested tongue-in-cheek what his title might be if the former first lady wins the election and he moves back into the White House.

"My Scottish friends say I should be called ‘first laddie' because it's the closest thing to ‘first lady,'" he said. "I'm not so worried about what I'm called as what I'm called upon to do."

Mr. Clinton rarely joins his wife on campaign trail, although he appeared with her at events in Iowa and New Hampshire over the Labor Day weekend. He played down his role in her campaign during the television appearance.

"If she's writing an important article or giving an important speech, she'll ask me to read it," he told Winfrey during the show taped Friday. "And once in a while she'll ask me for some advice on something strategic. But she knows so much more about a lot of this stuff than I do because I'm far removed from it."

Ms. Winfrey has prominently backed Mrs. Clinton's rival, Senator Obama in the race.