The Clinton campaign is doing its level best to scuttle any mention of Bill Clinton, and to keep his as far away from the campaign trail as possible.

But while Bill might be taking a backseat (do I take the ridiculous joke that’s just hanging out there about “paradise by the dashboard light?”) to his wife and to her advisors, it seems the campaign is looking to another member of the family to take up the reins of the stereotypical “campaign spouse.” According to professional Clinton-watchers, Chelsea Clinton, not Bill Clinton is actually the frontrunner among Clintonites to be the First Lady.

If the Clintons were to move back into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the first daughter, Chelsea, would presumably take on the traditional responsibilities of the first lady, an expert on the White House tells Daily Mail Online.

‘There is a social function to the first lady’s role, and that will not go away,’ C-SPAN co-CEO Susan Swain said. ‘Diplomacy’ is conducted through social settings, ‘and it is important to have somebody in that role.’

Several first daughters have filled the role of hostess in place of their mothers throughout American history, Swain, the producer of C-SPAN’s acclaimed series on America’s first ladies and the author of a book on the same subject, said, noting that there is precedent for such an arrangement.

‘The best guesstimate with the Clintons is that Chelsea Clinton would take over that role,’ Swain said.

Margaret Wilson, the daughter of Woodrow Wilson, was the last woman who was not married to the President to serve as First Lady. 

Obviously, Chelsea would have to uproot her family and her life from New York, where she lives with her investment manager husband, but that doesn’t seem like it would be a particularly big ask. Chelsea already knows the lay of the land as far as the White House is concerned (of course, thanks to her parents, much of the furnishings will be very different, however), and has only questionable work credentials, devoting most of her time to working at the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, a job which entails, at the very least, making up creative nom de plume for her mother’s email servers. Plus, with a daughter named Charlotte, how could she resist the opportunity to compare royal babies with the UK’s version of our leechy legacies?

(To be fair, Duchess Kate seems quite charming, something that is not a word regularly associated with Chelsea).

At any rate, this may be in the best interests of everyone involved. Fewer opportunities for Bill Clinton to outshine his wife on the stump – though he’ll be pulled in eventually, when people discover that Hillary has less luster than her husband – and fewer opportunities for Bill Clinton to screw up a State Dinner. Everyone wins. Even the baby.