You know what’s a bad sign of a campaign roll-out? When you’re relieved that you’re knocked off the headlines by a famous murderer. Go Hillary 2016!!
Watch below:
When I asked one top staffer on Hillary Clinton’s campaign to pick the high point of her overwhelmingly understated 2016 campaign kickoff in Iowa, the person paused for a moment, then shot back – “The Aaron Hernandez verdict!”
The former New England Patriot’s conviction on murder charges punted Clinton’s two-day pastoral tour of the critical caucus state off of cable news, a blessing to a campaign that craved the softest of soft launches. Wednesday’s legal drama, coupled with the Monday media blitz by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — who wanted to soak up the spotlight Clinton preferred to avoid — were welcome diversions for a team premiering not just a candidate but an updated approach to the oldest Clinton problem of all: dealing with people like me.
Clinton’s people were keen to emphasize the sense of whimsy and improvisation of the 1,000-mile, burrito-fueled ride from Chappaqua to Iowa in Hillary’s “Scooby Van,” but it was the culmination of a carefully reconstructed media and messaging strategy that was months — if not years — in the making. If 2008 was a miserably unsuccessful attempt to beat the press, 2016 will be an exercise in containment, not conquest. Or so they hope.
Yeah, well, he can only be convicted once, so they better look for another distraction from their campaign crapshow.