How to beat Hillary Clinton at her own game

Hillary Clinton is on fire, read this article to find out how to put it out.

Before you come out and say it, I know that some of you would rather not put the fire out. Hey, it’s crunch time, the 2008 primaries are just around the corner and you are sweating now, especially if you are a Presidential candidate, campaign manager, or rabid political supporter. How can you pull the rug out from under Hillary Clinton’s “inevitability” campaign? That is easily the question of the year, so I’d like to share my thoughts on a potential strategy for various players at this stage of the race.

Lets take a look at the facts, first:

1. Hillary Clinton is a brilliant politician, she took a page out of Bill Clinton’s book (easily the best POLITICIAN the U.S. has ever seen) and has perfected the art of political sparring, spinning and triangulating.
2. Clinton glows under the limelight, even when she looks bad –take the immigration / driver’s license issue for instance– she is able to recover and even exploit her mistakes to trample political adversaries.
3. Last night, Democrats had a chance to trounce Hillary Clinton. They knew that she was ‘down’, but not out, and it was Barack Obama and John Edward’s big chance to follow through on the Clinton ‘offensive’ that they promised voters. The pro-Hillary Clinton crowd made them pay with a barrage of boos.
4. Did I mention that Hillary Clinton has Bill Clinton in her corner? She will not make the kinds of mistakes that candidates are hoping to exploit.
5. Hillary Clinton came out looking like a winner, once again.

Strategy and advice

Here are some observations I’ve made over the last few debates

1. Among the biggest mistake that candidates, pundits and even GOP strategists have made is painting Hillary Clinton as the juggernaut that can’t be defeated. Without lifting a finger, Hillary Clinton came into the primary campaign season as the Google of the 2008 presidential elections. This ‘aura’ of inevitability, nay, invincibility, is what will allow Hillary Clinton to arrive at the 2008 Election unscathed.
2. The GOP is starting to ‘catch on’ and you’ll start receiving and reading plenty of conservative propaganda to the effect of “Maybe Hillary Clinton’s campaign isn’t inevitable after all,…” It’s not that something has magically changed, it’s strategy, and considering the GOP is in one hell of a hole, I’ll give them an A for effort on the strategy reversal. GOP candidates know that all they need to do is catch Clinton sleeping at the wheel (like John Kerry), that could give them an opening to knock her off the illusory throne they built for her.
3. President Bush has been buttering up Hillary Clinton, anyone wonder why? Aside from the fact that he may end up facing federal charges or an impeachment inquiry, Bush has no reason to be nice to Hillary Clinton. It’s called strategy, and the GOP recognizes now that it’s time to pull away from Operation “inevitable”, because Americans are starting to believe it and she’s shown that she is one tough cookie to crack.
4. Last night, a few Democrats (not named Hillary Clinton) did something wise: Dennis Kucinich went after John Edwards, Barack Obama flipped an attack on Edwards from a previous debate. More importantly, the spotlight was taken off of Hillary Clinton. The pundits aren’t talking about it, but it was the most brilliant move, albeit unintentional, that Democratic contenders could have made. Even Joe Biden took a swipe at Democrats when he said he wouldn’t support any of the bums if they won the nomination. Sure, it caused for some comic relief, but think about it: what he didn’t do was cater to the ‘triumvirate’. (Clinton, Obama, Edwards)
5. If you are Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden, or even Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd to an extent, you know that you have a high ‘likability’ rating. The problem is, that is about it! No candidates are as charming or well-received as Barack Obama and John Edwards for the Democrats. The issue for underdogs, is they will need to present solutions to American problems that are unique enough to stand out in front of Clinton. By taking shots at Hillary Clinton or Obama and Edwards, the underdogs are effectively telling Democrats that they are in desperation mode and need dirty tactics to have a chance at winning. My advice for them is, follow your strategy, but ignore the front-runners. If the lesser known candidates can effectively dim the light that shines on the Democratic triumvirate, MAYBE, just maybe there is a chance of building momentum and winning Iowa.
6. On the triangulation and “waffling” (the new word for flip flopping *sigh*): Politicians who attack the triangulation approach come out sounding like one of two things 1. a whiner or 2. a loser. Edwards and Obama have been going nuts over triangulation. They’ve attacked President Clinton’s character and have spent way too much time explaining “triangulation” to the American people. The fact of the matter is that most Americans don’t care, especially not those that are voting in the primaries! It’s politics, it is a game of sharks and whales and in this game the whales tend to get eaten by the sharks. So my advice on this is you better stop worrying about Clinton spinning and start worrying about how you’ll convince Americans that you are more worthy of the American Presidency than Hillary Clinton. It may not be fair that Hillary Clinton gets to wear the crown before reaching the oval office, but it is what it is. Deal with it and don’t forget your audience. Democrats that ‘care’ about the primaries are going to vote for a Democrat no matter what, and few are going to lose sleep (even the radicals) if Clinton ends up winning the nomination.
7. The very same pundits and experts that have labeled Hillary Clinton inevitable in the primaries and 2008 elections are also the same clowns that believe she is the least qualified to serve as President. You can’t have it both ways, you come out sounding like you don’t know what you are talking about! Every candidate on the stage looks better than President Bush, even on the Republican side, so stop using the “Hillary’s not qualified” line, it makes you look really foolish when you attack along those lines and she runs circles around you in the political arena.
8. One note for the GOP, if you plan on attacking Hillary Clinton and/or using the qualification line, you’re dead. I give the GOP a 5% chance of victory in 2008, and that would require a major terrorist attack and serious Democratic scandal to come out that would defeat President Bush’s scandalous administration in the headlines. It’s not likely to happen, so the best chance for Republicans is to start building up a list of issues that are important to Americans as a whole NOT just the GOP, but to ALL Americans. Immigration is an example, but watch how you frame the issues because most Republicans sound like a bunch of asses when they discuss the immigration issue, and that’s the last thing you need considering the Bush cloud that is following the party around.
9. Finally, if you are a Presidential candidate NOT named Hillary Clinton, think about this as a sporting event. What would Bill Parcells tell a team at the Super Bowl if his team was down, injured, and expected to lose by the end of the game? He wouldn’t tell his players to start playing dirty to give them a chance to win, he’d detail the weaknesses of the other team and tell the team what they need to do to win. Well here’s the big secret for you non-Clinton candidates: ACT LIKE YOU’VE BEEN THERE BEFORE! Sure, no one there has served as President, yet, but appearance and actions are everything in politics. Clinton just LOOKS like a President, the rest look like a bunch of law school kids arguing issues and taking cheap shots at the “gunner” / editor of law review who sits at the top of the class by a wide margin.

If candidates start believing they could win and stop obsessing over Clinton and flinging mud, that alone will impress voters. It would also force Hillary Clinton to explain why she is fit to serve as President rather than simply deflecting criticisms that come off as sour grapes. The bottom line: in order to defeat Hillary Clinton, candidates need to make her appear invisible rather than invincible.

Fred Soto is an Attorney and Entrepreneur from the Silicon Valley.
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