Former President Clinton rides to Obama's rescue

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former President Bill Clinton showed again on Wednesday how he has turned into a high-profile helper for President Barack Obama.

Facing doubts about his handling of the U.S. economy, Obama asked Clinton to join in White House talks with business leaders on how to spur job growth and help the United States avoid a double-dip recession.

"Bill Clinton has terrific political instincts in addition to a very deep knowledge of public policy," said William Galston, who was Clinton's domestic policy adviser. "And I think the administration has everything to gain and nothing to lose from listening very carefully to what he has to stay."

The inclusion of Clinton, whose 1990s presidency was marked by a tech-driven economic boom that produced the last U.S. budget surplus, was the latest sign that Obama has long since forgiven Clinton for any sore feelings left over from the 2008 presidential campaign.

In January 2008, Clinton was accused of injecting race into Obama's battle against Clinton's wife Hillary in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, which Obama won.

Obama and his team were angered and the hard feelings carried on for months. But since taking office, Obama has turned to the voluble Clinton on a number of occasions for assistance.

Need someone to persuade North Korea to free two detained Americans? Clinton traveled to Pyongyang, sat down for talks with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and brought the Americans home.

Need someone to spearhead relief efforts for the Earthquake in Haiti? Obama turned to Clinton and former President George W. Bush to raise money, and Clinton has returned to Haiti time and again to check up on quake recovery.

Both men have a tendency to delve into the details of problems and Clinton's post-presidential experience in dealing with business leaders could offer Obama some perspective. Clinton's lucrative speaking career has left him a wealthy man and he heads an international aid foundation.

One former Clinton White House aide said it was a good sign he was lending a hand on the economy, as many Americans tell pollsters they are skeptical of Obama's economic stewardship ahead of November 2 congressional elections.

"Clearly if you're going to win the next election you have to focus on the domestic politics and Bill Clinton got it," said the former Clinton aide.

Obama, who succeeded where Clinton failed in gaining approval of a U.S. healthcare overhaul, is hoping to avoid Clinton's fate two years into his presidency in 1994 when his Democrats lost control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Wednesday's meeting followed by one day Obama's appointment of Jack Lew to be his new director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Lew had been one of Bill Clinton's budget directors and was drawn from the staff of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who seemed reluctant to let her deputy secretary of state go.

"While I was hoping never to have to replace Jack, the president and our country need his leadership at OMB," she wrote to State Department employees.

Obama already has aides surrounding him who served in the Clinton White House, including his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and economic aides Larry Summers and Gene Sperling.

(Editing by Todd Eastham)