"Softening Hillary's Image Takes Precedence Over Campaign Shakeup"

Thomas B. Edsall (Huffington Post):

With the January 3 Iowa caucuses fast approaching, Hillary Clinton is now being forced to publicly disguise hardball opposition research and other bare-knuckled combat tactics, leaving visible only bland themes portraying her as a loving daughter and warm mother.

A series of risky moves by the Clinton campaign earlier in December provoked a hostile public reaction, as aides raised the issue of Barack Obama's past cocaine use and mocked Obama's kindergarten ambitions to be president. Clinton herself announced plans to attack Obama on December 3 with the boast, "now the fun begins."

The campaign's current shift towards showcasing Clinton's warm and fuzzy side precludes, at least through the January 8 New Hampshire primary, any brutal staff shake up which would highlight the rough side of the Clinton operation, according to campaign sources.

Clinton campaign aides privately voiced frustration at their currently tethered circumstances, unable to make full use of their aggressive skills at a time when Hillary's bid for the nomination have lost momentum.

In polls of Democratic voters, Clinton aides noted, she has won high marks for her toughness, electability, and her stands on such key issues as health care and Iraq. Her weakest points, however, are on voter assessments of her likeability, her candor and her honesty.

Neither staff firings nor tough attacks on Obama fit the image the Clinton campaign now wants to present of the candidate as a family-oriented, caring and empathetic candidate determined to address social problems.

Clinton earlier this month began attacking Obama's record in the Illinois State Senate (his
"present" votes on abortion and gun control, for example, rather than aye or nay), his health care plan which does not provide universal coverage, and his failure to vote on a key U.S. Senate Iran resolution.

In contrast, the former First Lady is now running ads featuring appearances with her mother, Dorothy Rodham, and her daughter Chelsea, as admiring women comment on how beautiful her family is.

"I'm thrilled that I have my mother and my daughter with me tonight," Hillary declares at the start of the ad:

You know, as I travel around I see so many families who share the same values I was brought up with. My mom taught me to stand up for myself and to stand up for those who can't do it on their own. I'm proud to live by those values. But what I'm most proud of is knowing who I've passed them on to.

In another new spot, Hillary's mother declares:

What I would like people to know about Hillary is what a good person she is....She never was envious of anybody -- she was helpful. And she's continued that with her adult life with helping other women. She has empathy for other people's unfortunate circumstances. I've always admired that because it isn't always true of people.

The goal of these spots is to transform the image of Hillary, from what the Republican National Committee's website describes as, "Calculating, Divisive." The website then quotes the American Prospect editor Robert Kuttner - "Everything She Does Seems Calculating, Poll-Tested, And Money-Driven" - and Time's Ana Marie Cox -- "She's The Most Calculating Person In Modern Politics."