RNC Research

Top Aides To Obama Claim “Hillary Clinton Is Repeating The Mistakes She Made In 2008” By Stressing Inevitability And “Building A Machine In Lieu Of A Message.” “Top advisers and former aides to Barack Obama say Hillary Clinton is repeating the mistakes she made in 2008, building a machine in lieu of a message and lumbering toward the Democratic nomination with the same deep vulnerabilities that cost her the nomination eight years earlier.” (Ben Smith and Ruby Cramer, “Obama Aides Doubt Clinton Strategy,” BuzzFeed, 2/4/14)

• Clinton Early Political Moves Have Helped Foster “The Sense Of Inevitability That Was Central To Her 2008 Campaign — A Perception That Also Backfired Badly.”  “The former secretary of state has offered her tacit blessing to a series of Democratic organizations, including a draft group, Ready for Hillary, which was recently taken over by a former Clinton aide; and Priorities USA Action, the Obama super PAC repositioning itself to raise huge sums for Clinton. The moves have been effective in telegraphing to other would-be candidates that they may have a hard time raising money and building an organization, and in establishing the sense of inevitability that was central to her 2008 campaign — a perception that also backfired badly.” (Ben Smith and Ruby Cramer, “Obama Aides Doubt Clinton Strategy,” BuzzFeed, 2/4/14)

Former Top Obama Aide: Clinton “Doesn’t Have A Compelling Rationale For Her Candidacy.” “Officials were also willing to speak on the record about what they see as those mistakes, in part to send a message to the former secretary of state. ‘People are really getting worried about it,’ said another former top Obama aide, who said she would like to see a woman elected but worried that Clinton ‘doesn’t have a compelling rationale for her candidacy.’” (Ben Smith and Ruby Cramer, “Obama Aides Doubt Clinton Strategy,” BuzzFeed, 2/4/14)

Top Obama White House Pollster Joel Benenson: “I Just Don’t See Any Strategic Value In Stories Positioning Her As Inevitable Or The Pre-Emptive Nominee … She Doesn’t Need This.”  “‘I just don’t see any strategic value in stories positioning her as inevitable or the pre-emptive nominee, and I don’t think people who are out there talking about this help her, and I think she should make that clear,’ said Joel Benenson, Obama’s chief campaign pollster and now the top White House pollster. ‘She doesn’t need this. If she decides to run for president, everybody knows she’s going to be able to raise money, everybody knows she’s going to be extremely formidable, that she’s going to have a significant network of supporters around the country — so what’s the value of all this in 2014?’” (Ben Smith and Ruby Cramer, “Obama Aides Doubt Clinton Strategy,” BuzzFeed, 2/4/14)

Obama Campaign Press Secretary Ben Labolt, On The Perils Of A Clinton Inevitability Strategy: “It Could Have Unforeseen Consequences — We Learned That Lesson The Hard Way…” “‘The further out front the effort to elect Sec. Clinton is three years before election day, the greater the incentive is for the press, prospective opponents, and adversarial groups to scrutinize and attack her every move,’ said Ben LaBolt, the national press secretary for the 2012 Obama campaign. ‘Even if it is a well-known candidate — sometimes more so — activists, donors, and voters like to see candidates fighting for every vote. If they start to feel like their power and influence is diminished it could have unforeseen consequences — we learned that lesson the hard way during the New Hampshire primary in 2008.’” (Ben Smith and Ruby Cramer, “Obama Aides Doubt Clinton Strategy,” BuzzFeed, 2/4/14)

Democratic Strategist Joe Trippi: “I See Real Similarities Emerging In Terms Of Carrying The Mantle Of The Status Quo, Getting Out Front Too Soon — And Playing It Safe.” (Ben Smith and Ruby Cramer, “Obama Aides Doubt Clinton Strategy,” BuzzFeed, 2/4/14)