Campaign strategy

On Sunday's network news, I saw Hillary Clinton commenting on her endorsement by Iowa's leading newspaper, the Des Moines Record. Frankly, I thought that her reaction--she spoke slowly and without drive, and I thought she looked tired--did a lot to undermine the newspaper's pick. (I'm not going to go into the wingnuts' bitching about Hillary's looks; this is not something that's important--not like what the candidate says about an issue--just an observation.)

The Clinton campaign has her on a likeability tour--she's going across Iowa this week, showing her human side. I suppose it's a compliment that she no longer has to prove she's tough enough to be president, but I don't see Rudy or John McCain being called on to show their warm and fuzzy faces.

Selling a personal quality is done by example and demonstration, not by talking about it. As the old adage has it, "When a man tells you how honest he is, keep your hand on your billfold." By presenting the current tour as one designed to show Hillary's humanity, the campaign is actually sending the opposite message. Further, there's the matter of why she feels she needs to do this. Not only is she changing her message in mid-stream, but she runs the risk of validating the fatuous (and sexist) critique that says her human side is vital. If I were her adviser, I'd suggest that she tell the press and the voters, "This is who I am. If you don't like me, don't vote for me. "

Or is this just another example of the New York Senator's problem with genuineness?

While I'm ranting about the Clinton campaign, is it really a good idea for Bill to be so prominent in the campaign? Or does it undermine the message of change that has been his wife's theme recently? Do Democratic voters really want to go back to the '90's? Does having Bill front and center obscure who the candidate is, and is that something the Clinton camp should want? As you can probably tell, I don't think so.