August 14, 2014

Thursday Hillary Bash - Math

Hillary Clinton is calculating her votes. You can see it in her odd triangulation efforts on the situation in Israel and her criticisms of president Obama, and how that contrasts with her other positions. The Washington Post draws three conclusions (which it treats as observations) from Hillary's latest pronouncements:
"Great nations need organizing principles -- and 'Don't do stupid stuff' is not an organizing principle," Clinton told the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg in a line that surely launched a thousand grimaces (or worse) in the White House. She went on to explain that she doesn't actually believe that statement sums up Obama's entire foreign policy. “I think that that’s a political message. It’s not his worldview," she said. “… I think [Obama] was trying to communicate to the American people that he’s not going to do something crazy."

But Clinton, of course, knew what she was doing -- picking a prominent foreign policy writer to make a pointed critique of the current Administration's policies at the very moment when President Obama's ratings are at -- or damn close to -- their lowest ebb of his time in office. So, why did she do it -- and what does her willingness to so publicly break with the Obama Administration tell us about how she's positioning herself for 2016?
The WaPo claims she's not at all worried about the primary. For Hillary opponents that's good news in my opinion. However, the point that she is thinking about the general election seems valid - she's not worried about Warren and the likes of Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are not serious political threats. She's aiming for more centrist voters, Jewish voters (see below~) and military hawk voters. She doesn't need to win all of any of those voting blocks but she needs to take away the misgivings of enough of them to be competitive and to add to her voter totals in 2016. To do so she has to prove she's tough. That goes directly to the WaPo's second and third points, that she wants people to believe she'll be ready from Day 1 and that she doesn't always agree with the floundering president Obama.

The timing couldn't be better for her to add her two cents. It's more evidence that Hillary Clinton will indeed be running for president in 2106. It's more evidence she's thinking end game instead of next step (primaries) which was her weakness in 2008. Expecting a coronation is the best way to ensure you don't get one.

NEW YORK –- Hillary Clinton on Sunday offered a “vociferous defense” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following four weeks of war in Gaza that have left more than 1,900 Palestinians dead.

In an interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, Clinton also echoed Netanyahu's recent claims that journalists didn't tell the full story while reporting in Gaza, an allegation that numerous journalists have disputed.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu said reporters withheld information because of “restrictions and intimidation” from Hamas, the militant faction that controls Gaza and has fired thousands of rockets into Israel. On Thursday, Netanyahu told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he hoped journalists who have left Gaza can now “report the truth.”
Looks like she's looking at the Jewish voting block to get behind her as well, as they slip away from a comfort level with president Obama. 


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