For Week 2 of the candidate diaries, I want to move away from issues and ideology and start looking at the Clinton campaign from a purely strategic standpoint:
Hillary Clinton entered this campaign facing two hurdles that are unique, or at least amplified, by the fact that she is the first female candidate in the 230 year history of our country to have a legitimate chance of being elected President:
1) To an even greater extent than male candidates, Clinton had to cross the "commander-in-chief" threshold. Americans will not elect a President unless they believe there is sufficient experience and resolve to handle national security. This, of course, has been a long-standing knock on potential women candidates. They are too weak.
2) Hillary Clinton has been portrayed as "cold", "strident", "aggressive" and any number of other euphemisms for "bitchy". Why the animosity? It's again a gender-based issue. Specifically, when she came to Washington, Clinton broke the mold of June Cleaver first ladies in pill box hats, white gloves, and elegant gowns working on "women's projects" like decorating the White House for Christmas. She was the first to have a professional career. And, the first to tackle serious policy issues that were viewed as "men's work". This was a generational change. The country was afraid of women assuming these roles and thus Clinton became a natural target for the attack machine. We all saw the dog whistle codes: from the subtle "shrill" to the more aggressive "lesbian" attacks.
So, entering the campaign, Clinton faced the daunting strategic challenge of communicating both her toughness (or bad ass-ness, if you will) and her softer, humanizing side. The most impressive thing about her campaign to date is that she has managed to do both.
I won't go into much detail on the "commander-in-chief" toughness. We all have seen those efforts from her vote in 2002, to her seat on the Armed Services Committee, to her smackdown of Donald Rumsfeld in 2006 (see video below), to her forcing the Pentagon to discuss planning, to her commanding positions on national security in the debates. Suffice to say that 58% of all Americans now view her as having crossed the commander-in-chief threshold and, in fact, she is even begrudgingly respected by Republican pundits in this area. This is no small accomplishment. Not only do few Presidential candidates cross the threshold, she is the first woman in US history to do so.
The more fascinating side is the Clinton effort to humanize the candidate. I see six specific techniques they have used:
1) Have fun on the campaign trail. Real or not, I don't know. But, she has been disciplined in smiling and being good natured. For example, look what happens whenever she is attacked. She always answers with a laugh and a dismissal of the attack. "I just have to laugh." "Well, I don't expect Karl Rove to endorse me any time soon." This is backed up by self-deprecating humor including the Sopranos parody video, the poster showing her hairstyles she gave to attendees at the hairdressers convention, the jokes about her singing the national anthem on YouTube, stopping a Dairy Queen with Bill, etc.
2) Use personal stories to connect on a human level with voters. This has been consistent in every campaign appearance, using personal anecdotes to draw connections. Sometimes, it's sports: "Cubs, not Sox" or "my father would be so proud to see me standing on the 10 yard line at Soldier Field". Sometimes, it's family vacations: "I remember driving from Arkansas with Bill and Chelsea to Hilton Head, back before there were so many golf courses and hotels." Sometimes it's political, "I remember when Bill and I first came to Nashua, NH." Or the stories she told of NY firefighters at the Firefighters' Union convention. Or, her telling the story of working with Marian Wright Edelman in South Carolina (see video below). Of course, none of this would work if she didn't actually have a personal story connecting her with each group (and the best advance team in the business).
3) Emphasize a conversation with voters. She announced her campaign on the internet in a casual living room setting and has followed that with a series of conversational videos. She has used the town hall Q&A format throughout the campaign.
4) Frame issues and policies in terms of real people. Her TV ad is a perfect example. While it is a viscious putdown of the Bush administration, the message is a personal one to voters who feel "invisible" to their government. By acknowledging their difficulties in a quiet, sympathetic way, Clinton makes a human connection and offers the hope that a more caring, competent government might be able to help.
5) Stay relentlessly positive on the campaign trail. She has steadfastly refused to attack fellow Democrats, instead responding with a call for party unity, even when attacked. The most striking example was in the AFL-CIO debate when she was given the opportunity to respond to attacks and answered with her "I'm your girl" party unity for a victory in 2008 answer. That took incredible message discipline. She obviously very aware that attacking Democrats is counterproductive to goal of making her more likeable.
6) Speak directly to women. The classic example is her use of the "bring your brooms, we've got cleaning to do in Washington" rhetorical device and her reference to the women's movement and her mother today.
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