As Democrats move into the fall campaign, many are asking where Clinton fits into the new landscape.

Not Hillary Clinton, who just held a major "unity" event with Barack Obama and backed him with apparent enthusiasm. Rather, many of the questions now surround her husband Bill. Before this year, the former president was moving comfortably into a perch as an elder statesman, even if the old whiff of controversy never quite went away. But Bill Clinton received decidely mixed reviews this year as he careened across the political stage during his wife's recent campaign, and it's not clear where its end leaves him, especially since much of the commentary suggests he is sulking.

A striking feature of the past week was the difference in the Clintons' tones as each surfaced for the first time since Barack Obama claimed the Democratic nomination. Hillary Clinton was gracious and poised in her return to the Senate, as well as at the rally in Unity, N.H. Greeted emotionally by staffers and colleagues, she handled what must have been a tough moment with self-deprecation and humor.

In contrast, Bill Clinton's spokesman, not the president himself, issued a terse off-camera statement promising to work for Obama's election. "President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next President of the United States," spokesman Matt McKenna said. While sending--just barely--the necessary message, the statement felt to many as though it had been issued only because Clinton knew he had to say something.

It would not be surprising if the former president does feel resentful or wounded; the Democratic primary was not kind to him. He was criticized for making comments that some saw as racially tinged, such as comparing Obama's win in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's. Clinton occasionally erupted in angry tirades, including slamming reporters in decidedly unpresidential ways, calling one a "scumbag." And the campaign saw an often-unflattering dissection of Clinton's business dealings since leaving office.

Beyond that, Clinton may resent that Obama has become what Clinton once was--a political wunderkind promising idealism and change. And in achieving this status, Obama sometimes seemed to dismiss the Clinton years, lumping his presidency with President Bush's as a period of divisiveness that the country needed to overcome. Obama has also presented himself as a post-Baby Boom figure, able to get beyond the drama and bitterness of Clinton's generation. In some ways, Obama, while often praising the Clinton years, ran against them.

So what is the former president's next role? The Obama campaign surely would like to use Clinton for what he does best--traveling the country to speak in small towns and stir up the Democratic faithful, using his folksy charm to win over the rural and working-class voters Obama has struggled to attract. But just as surely, the Obama camp is wary of Clinton's recent penchant for making controversial statements that overshadow the campaign's desired message. And Obama aides also know reporters will regularly ask Clinton about some of the harsher statements he made about Obama's campaign during the primary.

For what it's worth, it seems likely that after a reasonable interval for licking his wounds, Bill Clinton will do what he must to preserve his own future and that of his wife. For all his famous passions and appetites, Clinton also has a strong streak of discipline, or he could not have been twice elected president of the United States.

So he will most likely go back to his charitable work on issues like AIDS and Asian tsunami relief, continue burnishing his legacy, and campaign dutifully for Obama and other Democrats--all the while working to reclaim his position as a respected, if tempestuous, elder of the Democratic Party.

Then he'll be ready for whatever role presents itself, whether it be as President Obama's Middle East envoy or a reprise of his role as candidate spouse in 2012.