NYT's Dowd: Bill Clinton Schools Obama on Syria

President Barack Obama hit rock bottom this week when he was criticized by former President Bill Clinton for using polls to drive policy on Syria, columnist Maureen Dowd said Sunday in her New York Times column.

"Not only is President Obama leading from behind, now he’s leading from behind Bill Clinton," Dowd wrote.

Clinton criticized Obama during a private meeting Tuesday with Republican Sen. John McCain at the McCain Institute for International Leadership event in New York. Audio portions of the meeting were leaked to Politico.

Clinton said Obama should have more actively supported anti-Assad rebels in Syria, and that any president who listens to opinion polls looks like "a total fool."

“When the man who polled where to take his summer vacation and whether to tell the truth about his affair with Monica Lewinsky tells you you’re a captive of polls, you’d better listen up,” Dowd said.

A deadly civil war has raged throughout Syria for two years. An Obama administration official announced this week that the U.S. would now send military aid to the rebels.

"The silver-tongued campaigner has turned out to be a leaden salesman in the Oval Office. On issues from drones to gun control to taxes to Syria, the president likes to cite public opinion polls to justify his action or inaction. He seems incapable of getting in front of issues and shaping public and Congressional opinion with a strong selling job,” Dowd said.