Political adviser David Axelrod said that Hillary "making herself the candidate of the future" would be "a challenge." That was ten years ago.
Axelrod's memoir, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics, which hits stores today, includes a 12-page memo that was written for then-Senator Barack Obama in 2006. The Washington Times reports that Axelrod's strategic advice to Obama at the time declared, "for all of [Hillary's] advantages, she is not a healing figure. [...] The more she tries to moderate her image, the more she [...] compounds her exposure as an opportunist."
Axelrod has since said that the former first lady "can't rely on the Clinton name," and that she must "approach this campaign like a challenger, not like a frontrunner — like an insurgent."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What does history say about Trump’s moves in Latin America?Today's Big Question ‘Bitter memories’ surface as US targets Venezuela
-
What’s the difference between a bull market and bear market?The Explainer How to tell if the market is soaring or slumping.
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariff
Speed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
