That would be quite a gamble. The unexpected can easily happen in politics. There's no guarantee he will succeed. It's particularly unlikely the Dems will sink below 40 votes in the Senate, and thus lose the power to filibuster. And, in the meantime, four years will have been wasted.
Whereas going after the Clintons from the start could very well have so discredited the Dems that they would do as badly as the Republicans did in the elections after Watergate.
I don't think so. People are just tired of hearing about Bill Clinton and his problems and it would turn into a hugh negative for the adm. I think Bush is being advised correctly to leave it alone for future consideration.
Oh, you could tell from the get go that this decision was made, deal or no deal, who cares. What I like about this strategy is if Bush gets a second term, the gloves are off.