Most pundits agree that, in order to be successful in 2016, Hillary Clinton will have to: 1) pull off a miraculous upset against Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden, and 2) distance herself from Barack Obama.
The second task won’t be easy. Clinton served as Obama’s secretary of state for four years before quitting to pursue her dream of becoming a multimillionaire on the corporate speaking circuit. Before leaving, Clinton palled around with the president in a fluffy 60 Minutes interview to prove how close they were.
But with Obama entering the lame duck phase of his failed presidency, having just suffered a second midterm shellacking, and with his job approval hovering at 40 percent, Hillary will have to find a way to break free of the Obama anchor. Here are a few suggestions for how she can successfully distance herself from her former boss.
1. Rediscover her love for war
Hillary has already tried to distance herself from President Obama’s foreign policy. In an interview with the Atlantic, she called the decision not to intervene earlier in the Syrian civil war a "failure," and slammed Obama’s description of his foreign policy doctrine—"Don’t do stupid stuff"—as hopelessly inadequate. "Great nations need organizing principles, and 'Don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle," Clinton said.
Hillary can further differentiate herself from Obama by rediscovering her love of war, something she has demonstrated over the course of her political career by, for example, dodging sniper fire in Bosnia and voting to support George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. In doing so, however, Hillary could risk disappointing some liberals such as Ezra Klein who think she is overly concerned about "the expansive ambitions of radical jihadists."
2. Celebrate wealth/embrace Wall Street
This one is easy. In 2010, President Obama went off teleprompter during a speech in Illinois on the topic of Wall Street reform. "We’re not, we’re not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that’s fairly earned," he said. "I mean, I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money."
Hillary Clinton has devoted her life to rejecting that statement. Despite already being a multimillionaire and owning multiple mansions, Clinton has tried to accumulate as much wealth as possible for herself since quitting her job at the State Department. She has earned millions by giving speeches to powerful corporations and financial firms across the country. Next month, she’ll deliver the keynote address at a conference hosted by a Canadian investment firm. She also takes money from public universities, but is gracious enough to charge a "special university rate" of only $300,000 per speech.
By denouncing Obama's silly notion that there is such a thing as "rich enough," Hillary can prove her independence.
3. Stop caring about poor people
Hillary could balance her shameless greed with a profound disregard for the poor. For example, she could follow Chuck Schumer’s lead by declaring the Democratic Party’s efforts to force through Obamacare a "mistake."
In a recent speech to the National Press Club, Schumer suggested that trying to help poor people while ignoring middle-class Americans who are more likely to vote is a losing strategy for Democrats. Schumer was subsequently attacked by former Obama aides. By rushing to Schumer’s defense, Hillary could strategically break from the Obama administration and prove that she is her own person.
4. Highlight her considerable age/experience
Hillary could revive her argument from the 2008 Democratic primary that Barack Obama lacked the experience needed to be a successful president. Obama was just 47 years old when elected. Hillary would be more than 20 years older if she wins in 2016, and will have published more books (assuming Obama does not pen a third memoir before Election Day 2016).
This argument could serve Clinton well in the general election as well, because the Republican nominee will almost certainly be decades younger. She will have to tread carefully, however, because there is a good chance that at age 69, she will actually be the least old contender in the 2016 Democratic primary.