One of the most frequent criticisms of Hillary’s all-but-certain second try at the White House is whether she can offer anything new this time around against the backdrop of a failed candidacy in 2008.
Analysts point out that she has no choice lest she run the risk of inviting a challenge from the left like Sen. Elizabeth Warren. And supporters insist that Hillary 2.0 will make the case for why she’s different.
Obama strategist David Axelrod argued, “I’ve seen her as a less-than-great candidate in 2007, and I thought she was a very compelling candidate in 2008 after she lost the Iowa caucuses and her fate was very much on the line,” said Obama senior political strategist David Axelrod. “If she’s that candidate, she can do very well.”
Unnamed insiders claim that between her paid speaking engagements, Hillary has bunkered herself at the Clinton’s Chappaqua, NY, home poring over political reports, poll analyses, and more in an effort to beef up on they dynamics of the coming cycle that make it markedly different than eight years previous.
Democrat strategist Chris Lehane hinted that the ‘first female president’ motif will likely be a major driving force in Hillary’s campaign, “It is a sword in that, as a mom and grandmom from middle-class, Midwestern roots, she is uniquely positioned to talk with voters [about] being on the side of America’s families. It is a shield to deflect the predictable attacks from the opposition about the need for change in 2016.”
Another unnamed insider revealed, “She’s giving much more thought to what her rationale will be. It is a rationale that is not all about her, which I think was part of the problem in ’07,” when the emphasis on Clinton’s readiness for the job obscured the question of why she wanted it.”
