Hillary Clinton Begins to Move Away From Obama Ahead of 2016
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Presumed Presidential Candidate Makes Clear She Won’t Be Running for de Facto Third Obama Term.
Hillary Clinton, a presumed presidential candidate for 2016, has made clear she wouldn’t be running for a de facto third Obama term. WSJ’s Peter Nicholas joins the News Hub with Simon Constable with more on this. Photo: Getty
Hillary Clinton has begun distancing herself from President Barack Obama, suggesting that she would do more to woo Republicans and take a more assertive stance toward global crises, while sounding more downbeat than her former boss about the U.S. economic recovery.
People are “really, really nervous” about their future, Mrs. Clinton said at an event in Colorado last week that included hints of her emerging strategy to convey that she would be more effective in the pursuit of Democratic policy goals than Mr. Obama has been during his time in office.
“They don’t think the economy has recovered in a way that has helped them or their families,” Mrs. Clinton said. In contrast, Mr. Obama sounded almost cheery after Thursday’s jobs report, saying the country could make even more progress if Congress were willing to “set politics aside, at least occasionally.”
Mrs. Clinton hasn’t repudiated Mr. Obama, who made her secretary of state in his first term, and comments aimed at highlighting her differences with Mr. Obama are often implied rather than stated bluntly.
But in tone and substance, the presumed presidential candidate has made clear in recent public appearances that she wouldn’t be running for a de facto third Obama term in the White House. The strategy could help Mrs. Clinton tackle one of her biggest challenges if she decides to run: how to separate herself from Mr. Obama without alienating Democrats and Obama supporters.
The balancing act likely would be even trickier for Vice President Joe Biden, another potential Democratic candidate in 2016. Mr. Biden, closely tied to the White House and its foreign and domestic policies, could find it enormously difficult to chart an independent path if he launches a campaign.
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