Hillary 2.0 nears its unveiling

Hillary Clinton’s long-anticipated second bid for the White House will begin Sunday, launching an effort to succeed in 2016 where she failed in 2008.

The candidate and her campaign have already signaled that this time will be different.

{mosads}Tweaks are being made to the settings in which Clinton speaks; the role played by Bill Clinton; and the campaign’s relations with the news media.

Supporters insist the former secretary of State will also steer clear of evincing the sense of entitlement that some Democrats found so off-putting in 2008. 

The difference in tone is already being noticed by Democratic voters in Iowa, where Clinton is expected to travel shortly after her Sunday announcement.

“It does feel like it’s going to be a much more retail-focused campaign,” said Nate Boulton, a Des Moines, Iowa, lawyer and a Democratic activist. “I think it will be … much less about using the trappings of frontrunner status.”

Democratic consultants predict that voters will see Clinton in more intimate environments that will serve her better than podium speeches, where she can come across as stiff and uninspiring.

“I think, right after the announcement, it’s incumbent on her to interact with people directly, in small groups, not big crowds,” said Joe Trippi, best known for his work as campaign manager for former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean in 2004.

“That was where she failed last time,” Trippi added, arguing that the 2008 campaign was “almost too protective of her, in terms of not putting her directly with people.”

This was especially counterproductive in Iowa, where would-be caucus-goers have become accustomed to seeing candidates up close and personal. 

Key Clinton aides including likely campaign manager Robby Mook recently visited the state, eager to lay groundwork and avoid the mistakes of seven years ago.

Clinton’s most memorable line of her 2008 campaign launch was, “I’m in it to win it” — a slogan that sounded jarringly self-centered to many people. Most Democrats believe that Sunday’s announcement will be much more focused on Clinton as a fighter for the middle class.

The personnel comprising Team Clinton is significantly different this time around, too.

“She needs a campaign focused on the future, not the past, and that needs to be reflected in the staff,” said another Democratic strategist, who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s not the holdovers from 25 years ago but people who have been successful recently. Robby Mook is 35 years old. He has been raised in digital politics. He was, what, nine years old when President Clinton was first elected?”

Mark Penn, a key strategist and divisive figure in 2008, is not expected to be part of the 2016 effort.

Clinton partisans hope that the new staff can help reset her relationship with the media, which was notoriously strained in 2008. 

According to The Huffington Post, key aide John Podesta hosted an off-the-record dinner for journalists at his home in Washington on Thursday, with senior members of Clinton’s communications staff also in attendance. Podesta, the report noted, is “a seasoned cook” who “made a pasta with walnut sauce for the dinner guests.”

Pollster Joel Benenson will host a similar event in New York on Friday evening.

Former President Clinton has also indicated that he will play a very different role this time around. He promised to “primarily be … a backstage adviser to her” in a recent interview with Town and Country Magazine. 

If he sticks to that pledge, it will be a welcome relief to some of those close to his wife, who believe that his 2008 interventions were often intemperate and counter-productive.

Put it all together and it still doesn’t mean that Clinton will be a perfect candidate or will run a perfect campaign. 

Her recent news conference aimed at tamping down a controversy over her use of a private email server while secretary of State was a reminder of her limitations. 

On Friday, a new poll from Bloomberg Politics found that only 29 percent of Americans believed she had been truthful in saying she had turned over all relevant emails from that period. 

Seventy-two percent of Democrats and independents in the same poll said it would be “a good thing” if she faced serious competition for her party’s presidential nomination.

The rebooted Hillary Clinton campaign won’t be without flaws. But, in the minds of many Democrats, if it simply does a better job showcasing her strengths, it will be good enough.

“She is at her best when her guard is down, whether that is with small groups of people or with the press,” Trippi said. “She excels if that is the course they take.”

“She was in too tight a box at the beginning” of the 2008 campaign, veteran Democratic strategist Robert Shrum said. “While I believe in message discipline and its importance in campaigns, people need to know her in an authentic way.”

Some of Clinton’s most persistent critics in the Democratic Party appear to be taking notice.

David Axelrod, a former adviser to Obama who has repeatedly criticized Clinton over the years, suggested the signs indicate she’s ready to run a different campaign the second time around.

“Learning the lessons of 2008: HRC rollout plans stress humility. No Clinton Inc., the ‘inevitable’ juggernaut that left voters behind,” Axelrod wrote on Twitter on Friday.