Hillary's Sopranos Spoof

The video posted by the Clinton campaign that's dominated the airwaves has gotten some negative press. Margaret Carlson raises some good points as to why the Clinton team should be wary of it. The title of her peice says it hits "too close to home" in raising uncomfortable issues about Hillary and Bill, especially by comparing the two of them with the TV show in a way which can only be unflattering. David Mark (op-ed editor for the Politico) this past week told a group of us he didn't think she did herself any favors.

I disagree. Everyone knows that Hillary has major baggage with being married to Bill. It's all going to come out to the forefront sometime. Hillary's smart for bringing it out to some degree now, on her own terms, in a snappy campaign video. It's a way she can to some degree make light of it. The trick with her image will be to humanize herself. It's what Kerry and Gore were never able to do. Gore stiffened when he saw a camera. Kerry was full of bombast. Those two also had long records of high-level public service, which can be a negative in a presidential run, as we said in an earlier post. Hillary does as well, and she will have to make herself seem personable and likeable and just a regular human being. The Bill issue was approached well in the video because it was indirectly self-depricating.