As if the Democratic devastation on Election Day weren’t message enough — now aides and allies of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say she ought to flee as far as possible from President Obama, particularly if she’s looking to run for the White House in 2016.
They’re already trying to build a case for her as the “Not Obama” candidate, The Hill reported.
“She is not President Obama,” one ally said, The Hill reported. “Let’s not forget — they were a team of rivals. Now is the time to further enunciate these differences.”
Mrs. Clinton seems to be listening. On foreign policy, she’s gone to great lengths in public to point out the differences between her would-be ways of doing things on the international stage, versus Mr. Obama’s, The Hill reported. And even Republicans recognize the political dangers of Mrs. Clinton appearing too cozy with the president — who just suffered the worst popularity poll numbers with the American people in his two-term history.
“I don’t think she’s ever going to want to be seen with President Obama,” a GOP strategist said, in The Hill. “That’d be a drag for her, but now she’s got some time to sort out how she’ll distance herself from him.”
One quick and easy way Mrs. Clinton could create the big divide between her and the sitting president: Seize on minimum-wage hikes, supporters say, The Hill reported. Voters passed ballot measures to hike the minimum wage in several states — and in some of the same states where they elected Republicans to the Senate.
“[That’s] a big neon sign flashing on her that she can be harder on this stuff and much harder than President Obama did on these issues,” one pro-Clinton source said, The Hill reported. “She can now feel certain that there is a vein running through the electorate wanting someone to push those issues.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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