Fortunately, as always I know the answer. They just aren’t going to like it:
So who is she? What is the “best version” of Hillary Clinton, in terms of being able to connect to the public emotionally, establishing a strong and effective contrast with Donald Trump, and also being authentic to who she really is?
I find it useful in doing this kind of exercise to try to distill the answer down to the simplest terms possible. A single sentence — or even better, a single descriptive word.
For my money, Hillary Clinton’s single word is: LOYAL.
Now, I can already hear folks on the left laughing. “Loyal” is your word for the authentic Hillary Clinton? The woman who betrayed her mentor, Marian Wright Edelman? Hey, who do you think she’s loyal to — Goldman Sachs?
But last I checked, welfare reform was signed not by her, but by her husband. Last I checked, Glass-Steagall was repealed not by her but by her husband.
Who do I think she’s loyal to? I think she’s loyal to him.
And that’s the rock on which I propose that she rebuild her emotional connection with married women.
This is from the last of three columns of advice I’ve written to the Clinton campaign, all published at The Week. The first is here, the second is here, and the final one is here.
With free advice, you pretty much get what you pay for. But if anyone in Brooklyn HQ is reluctant to take mine for that reason, I can suggest a very simple solution.
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