The all-but-declared 2016 candidate must court Obama supporters while keeping her distance from his policies.President Obama isn't the only Democrat who has had a difficult few weeks. The past month has also been particularly challenging for the woman who has all but declared her 2016 presidential campaign: Hillary Clinton. If this winter is any guide, to win the nomination Mrs. Clinton will have to master her two-step: sticking close to a president still beloved by the Democratic base—as she did this week, flying on Air Force One with Mr. Obama to South Africa for Nelson Mandela's memorial service—while distancing herself from his unpopular policies.
The former secretary of state knows that in order to win the Democratic nomination she must first secure the party's base—the steadfast liberal voters who deserted her during the 2008 primaries. Mrs. Clinton has already signaled her intention to hew closely to their priorities: In an August speech at the American Bar Association in San Francisco, she advocated for extending the Voting Rights Act, and last month in Los Angeles she spoke to a major gathering of Mexican-Americans about her support for comprehensive immigration reform.
At the same time, Mrs. Clinton must separate herself politically from a president whose approval rating has plummeted (38% in the latest Quinnipiac poll) and whose policies could well wreck her chance to occupy the nation's highest office. If she fails to do this, Mrs. Clinton's inevitable identification with President Obama threatens to destroy any chance of winning over the critical group of independents that she lost in 2008.
Fortunately for Mrs. Clinton, she's got Bill. And the former president has already come to the rescue more than once.
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