Ron Fournier has the best take on Clinton's appearances yesterday: there was indeed a "Good Bill, Bad Bill" at each event.

Clinton started each event by saying that he "pretty much isn't involved in politics" any more, which may be technically true but struck me like an alcoholic saying he "pretty much doesn't drink any more." It was obvious that Clinton relished returning to the trail and, as Fournier points out, you could see him fall back into a "me, myself and I" stump speech as if it was '92 or '96 again with the bus sitting outside and the Fleetwood Mac blaring over the loud speakers.

What Fournier doesn't convey in his piece, however, is just how darn effective and persuasive Clinton was yesterday at selling Hillary.

People often refer to Clinton as the best retail politician of the last generation, without understanding exactly what that means. Watching Clinton work a room of people up close is like watching a master painter step up to the canvas. I know it sounds cliche, but he is simply that good when it comes to crafting a narrative that connects to and influences voters.

And yesterday, despite the fact he prattled on, went off script, and was grossly self-indulgent at times, by the time he was done at each event Bill Clinton had made a very persuasive case on behalf of his wife.

At the event in Dewitt I had a long conversation with an older couple seated just in front of the press divider as we waited for Bill to take the stage (the former president still travels on "Clinton time" - which means anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours late).

She was a registered Democrat who said she had narrowed it down to a choice between Clinton and Obama, he presented himself as a registered Independent who typically voted Democrat but was currently undecided. Both had very warm feelings toward Bill and the time he was in office, but both expressed a variety of reservations about voting for Hillary.

As they got up to leave an hour and a half later, I asked them whether Bill had made the sale. They both nodded in the affirmative, and the woman remarked that part of what had won her over was the idea of seeing Bill back in the White House as part of a "two for one" deal.

My story involves an admittedly small sample size. And these two folks may have gotten up this morning and changed their minds back. Or maybe there will be something else that changes their mind before caucus night. The point of the story is that those who think Bill Clinton isn't an asset to Hillary's primary campaign are out of their minds. When he's in front of Democratic leaning audiences, the Good Bill far outweighs the Bad.