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On its surface, the recently released music video produced by the PAC Stand with Hillary, not quite a formal part of Hillary Clintons not quite announced campaign for the Democratic nomination in 2016, is little more than further evidence of the difficulty Hillary Clinton may encounter turning a sterling resume and impressive intellect into a strong campaign.

Frank Bruni, writing in Sundays New York Times, suggests that the video positions [Hillary Clinton] first and foremost as all woman. The references are incessant, and is part of an effort by Clinton strategists to position their candidate as the womans candidate. Leaving aside what the Democratic reaction would be if a Republican woman sought female votes with an ad starring a handsome dude in cowboy hat, faded dungarees and Western boots, there is more to her strategy than meets the eye.

This spotclearly targeted at white menfeatures few people of color. The singer is a young white man with a pronounced twang in his voice, who seems to be trying to communicate to other white men that it is perfectly ok to support a strong woman. The cowboy in the ad reminds us that Ms. Clinton Fights for country and my family, now its time for us to stand up with Hillary. Fine. But the ad reflects the problems Democratic candidates continue to have in winning support from white men. Barack Obama won a little more than one-third of the white male vote in 2012, while nationally only 33% percent of that demographic cast their vote for Democrats in Novembers midterm election. Ms. Clinton, or her strategists, are appropriately concerned about her ability to win enough white male votes to get elected.

Rhetoric about Republican wars on women notwithstanding, white women also seem to be reasonably solidly in the Republican corner, casting 56 percent for both Mr. Romney and for Republican House candidates this past November.

The video, however, focuses primarily on a specific subset of those white male voters; and that is perhaps what, from a strategic perspective, is most striking. The man strumming the guitar and singing about the women in his life is not only white and male, but distinctly rural and not affluent. The idea that Ms. Clinton wants to increase her white support is not news, the notion that she thinks rural and, from the look of the ad, low income, white men will provide that support is more interesting.

Even in a country that is growing increasingly diverse, Democrats will have a hard time winning elections if their white support dips further, so identifying strategies to reach white voters is valuable. However, trying to get those votes from the specific subset of voters who, according to exit poll data, are least likely to vote Democrat is strange and does not help with other white voters who might be more likely to support Ms. Clinton against a Republican.

Ms. Clinton is making a similar tactical mistake to the one she made in 2008 when she ran against the white liberals who make up a huge proportion of Democratic primary voters. Her campaign seemingly has fond memories of the Democratic coalition being rooted in blue-collar white voters. While that was true for much of the middle of the twentieth century, it is no longer accurate. It is not irrelevant for Ms. Clinton that the last Democratic presidential candidate to resonate with lower income white voters was Bill Clinton, but things have changed a lot since Mr. Clinton last ran in 1996. Many young voters have little memory of Mr. Clintons successes or of a time when economic divisions, rather than social or cultural issues, defined party identification for white voters.

The white voters who Ms. Clinton will need to win are more likely to come from educated liberals, younger woman and urban residents. This video will likely not attract any of those groups. Obviously, the music video is only one of many that Ms. Clinton produces. Nonetheless, Democrats should be unsettled that one of the first major pieces of media from the Clinton camp seems like it was made a generation ago.

Lincoln Mitchell is national political correspondent at the Observer. Follow him on Twitter @LincolnMitchell.

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Hillary Clintons Bizarre Country Music Video Is Tone-Deaf

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Boston (CNN) -- Hillary Clinton stood with those protesting the deaths of two unarmed black males at the hands of law enforcement on Thursday, telling an audience in Boston that "our country deserves a full and fair accounting" of what happened.

In the last two weeks, grand juries have cleared police officers in the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. The deaths have led to rising tension and protests around the country about law enforcement's treatment of black males.

At a massive gathering of 10,000 women in Massachusetts, Clinton said she recognized the "pain and frustration" in response to the deaths and backed federal probes that have been initiated by the Justice Department.

"I'm very pleased that the DOJ will be investigating what happened in Ferguson or Staten Island," Clinton said. "Those families and those communities and our country deserve a full and fair accounting, as well as whatever substantive reforms are necessary to ensure equality, justice and respect for every citizen."

Clinton also called out the federal government for sending military-style equipment -- which Clinton called "weapons of war" -- to local police forces.

Instead, the former secretary of state and likely 2016 presidential candidate said the United States should "invest in what works ... [not] buy weapons of war that have no place on our streets or contribute to unnecessary force or arrests."

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama issued an executive order on police militarization calling for better tracking of such equipment.

Clinton identified with both the peaceful protestors and law enforcement during her speech.

"We all know there are decent, honorable, brave police officers out in our communities every single day," Clinton said, before telling the audience the fact that African-American males are more likely to end up in prison than their white counterparts was a byproduct of an "out of balance" criminal justice system.

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Clinton: legal system 'out of balance'

Hillary Clinton discussed "the pain and frustration that many Americans are feeling about the criminal justice system" during her keynote speech at the Massachusetts Conference for Women on Dec. 4, 2014. (Massachusetts Conference for Women)

MoveOn.org is lining up for Elizabeth Warren the latest sign of her strength among progressives by kicking off a $1 million effort to draft her for president in 2016, according to an article in theNew York Times:

MoveOn.orgs executive director, Ilya Sheyman, said the group planned to open offices and hire staff in Iowa and New Hampshire, the states that kick off the presidential nominating process, and ultimately to air television ads in those states. The group will begin its push with a website, Run Warren Run, allowing supporters to sign a petition urging Ms. Warren to pursue a White House bid and featuring a video about her.

We want to demonstrate to Senator Warren that theres a groundswell of grass-roots energy nationally and in key states and to demonstrate theres a path for her, Mr. Sheyman said. He added that the effort was not being made in coordination with Ms. Warren and that the group advised her staff about it only last weekend.

And with every Warren story, the question becomes just how worried Hillary Clinton should actually be. And it's this question that reminded me of a sentence in my colleague Anne Gearan's articleabout all the potential "not-Hillarys" who might run in 2016:

Bill Clinton admires Warrens stemwinder speaking style, and Hillary Clinton echoed parts of Warrens sticking-up-for-the-little guy economic message during midterm speeches this year.

It's this speaking style that has powered Warren to her position, leading my colleague, David Farenthold, to call her the master of the stump speech. She can bring a huge crowd to its feet in a way that almost no politician can at this point. And she is also a pitbull at congressional hearings, the very kind of appearances which will likely go into whatever video that MoveOn.org will make about her.

As for Clinton, what would be on her highlight reel of speeches?Her attempted echo of Warren's brand of populism in Massachusetts fell flat. Take a look at Clinton addressing the recent incidents involving white police officers and black men which have particularly inflamed progressives (at the 2:00 mark):

"I know that a lot of hearts are breaking and we are asking ourselves, aren't these our sons? Aren't these our brothers?" she said, adding that "each of us has to grapple with some hard truths about race and justice in America" when it comes to disproportionate treatment in sentencing.

Here is a review from the Boston Globe of that portion of the speech, in whichClinton talked about the country needing to "find balance" again:

See the rest here:
The Fix: Hillary Clinton has made millions on speeches. But shes still not a great speaker.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Lost amidst the predictable clutter of the "will-he-or won't-she" questions about whether Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton will actually run for the presidency is an unexpected development: a hint of authenticity.

Turns out that political purgatoryeven if temporarycan actually spark a genuine conversation with the public about what it takes to be president, and what goes into deciding whether you want to run.

Here's Hillary on herself: "The job is unforgiving in many ways, so I think you need people around you who will kid you, make fun of you. ... You can lose touch with what's real, what's authentic."

Gloria Borger

Here's Jeb on his decision: "Can I do it where the sacrifice to my family is tolerable?...It's a pretty ugly business right now. There's a level under which I would never subjugate my family because that's my organizing principle. That's my life."

So while Chris Christie won't answer questions about immigration and Ted Cruz is threatening to block presidential nominations and Rand Paul is blaming the tragic Eric Garner death on cigarette taxes, there's another more personal and revealing conversation going on about the presidency and how to get there, and we ought to pay some attention.

You can lose touch with what's real, what's authentic. Hillary Clinton

Not just because it's coming from Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton, although that is a part of it. After all, Hillary's outside support network is up and running, even if she isn't officially yet. And while Jeb has no campaign infrastructure or organization, his closest advisers are having enough meetings with enough operatives to send enough signals that it's a very live, real, even likely, possibility. Though Jeb's advisers tell me he hasn't made a decision, the process over the last six months sure looks like it leads to a presidential campaign.

So all the cheerleaders need is the final hand signal.

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Authentic words from Hillary Clinton?

Voters prefer Hillary Clinton over five potential 2016 Republican candidates for president, according to a Bloomberg Politics Poll released Monday. At the same time, the former secretary of state and first lady may be too liberal for general election voters.

Clinton was the most popular political figure mentioned in the poll out of seven potential 2016 candidates with a 52 percent net favorability rating. Vice President Joe Biden was second with 45 percent and 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney was third at 43 percent. No other possible 2016 contender surpassed 40 percent.

Clinton, who hasn't said she would run for president but is widely expected to mount a bid in 2016, may want U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to be the GOPs nominee if she runs. The polled showed her having the largest margin against Cruz, 46 percent to 33 percent. She had an eight-point lead over U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, 45 percent to 37 percent. Clinton had six-point leads over three possible 2016 candidates: former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and Romney.The Bloomberg poll was conducted Dec. 3-5 and is based on interviews with 1,001 adults.

The respondents also said Clinton was the candidate that shared their values more than the Republicans. Clinton was also found to be a stronger leader, care more about people like you, and having a vision for the future.

Her image and reputation with voters has been defined, and in some ways redefined, by her service as secretary of state, where voters saw someone who was a strong leader in representing our country, Democratic pollster Geoff Garin told Bloomberg. If she runs, she comes to this election in much better shape than she did in the 2008."

Another survey, however, found Clinton may lean too far to the left for a general election, Republican pollster David Winston told the Washington Examiner. On a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being liberal and 9 being conservative, Clinton scored a 3.6, which positions her just shy of President Barack Obama, who got a 3.37, and to the left of House Democrats. Independent voters involved in the poll put themselves at 5.56, or just right of center.

Looking at 2016, the ideological spectrum should [be] concerning for Democrats, especially the likely front-runner Hillary Clinton, Winston said. The good news for her is voters put her to the right of President Obama. The bad news for her is voters put her significantly to the left of where they put themselves ideologically.

More here:
Hillary Clinton 2016 President Poll Shows Edge Over Mitt Romney, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Rand Paul And Jeb Bush