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The 2016 campaign has acquired an unexpected story line in its early stages: All Madam Presidents Men.

As Hillary Clinton begins to staff her nascent presidential campaign, a paradox has emerged. When she ran in 2008, she played down her potential to make history as the first woman to be president, but her campaign was run by a woman and dominated at the top levels by women. This time, Clinton is properly emphasizing her path-breaking role, but shes relying on the old-boy network in large part by taking over President Obamas heavily male campaign apparatus.

Her campaign chairman: John Podesta. Her campaign manager: Robby Mook. Her chief strategist: Joel Benenson. Her pollsters: Benenson, John Anzalone and David Binder. Her top media guy: Jim Margolis. John, Robby, Joel, John, David and Jim join former Obama hands such as Jim, Jeremy and Mitch, who have already been boosting Clintons candidacy in the super PAC world.

This is quite a departure from Clintons run eight years ago, when a Huffington Post study found that eight of her 14 senior staffers and 12 of her 20 highest-paid staffers were women (including campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, who was later replaced by Maggie Williams, and chief media strategist Mandy Grunwald). By contrast, only three of Obamas top 12 staffers were women, and in less important roles.

This surely wasnt Clintons intent, but her decision to re-brand Obamas frat house as her own puts out a message quite at odds with her candidacy: that women cant run a presidential campaign. Will Hillary 16 Be a White Dude Fest? the Daily Beast asked last month.

Clinton world has since done some damage control, letting it be known that Jennifer Palmieri would run the campaigns communications operation and that Grunwald would have a role. And some of the grumbling about Clintons early hires isnt fair: Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills and Williams, though they dont (yet) have official roles, are highly influential members of Clintons inner circle. From what Ive heard, Clinton lieutenants were surprised by the reaction to the early slate of male hires. They say they blundered in putting out the names of several men at once and were not making a fundamental shift from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuit to the Obama towel snappers.

Even so, this suggests a tone deafness reminiscent of Obamas handling of the issue. A 2009 basketball game at the White House in which only men played became a symbol of an administration that excluded women from top positions. The common response that senior adviser Valerie Jarrett has broad influence behind the scenes is similar to the explanation of the role of women in Clintons emerging campaign.

There is one very good reason for Clinton simply to put her name on the door of Obamas campaign operation: His advisers clearly know how to win elections. Clintons 2008 run was famous for its dysfunction and internal feuding.

But its just as possible that merging Obamas advisers with her loyalists will simply produce more squabbling. Many of the officials now poised to work for Clinton spoke of her with undisguised contempt eight years ago. Have they suddenly been converted? Or are they working for Clinton to further their own ambitions and businesses while privately holding the views that are still being voiced by former top Obama strategist David Axelrod? Axelrod, who is not working for Clinton, has been critical of Clinton in his new book, in which he describes her as an opportunist and not a healing figure and too much a part of the system in Washington ever to change it.

An early hint of squabbles between Obama and Clinton loyalists came last week, when Clinton ally David Brock accused former Obama adviser Jim Messinas pro-Clinton super PAC, Priorities USA Action, of planting negative stories about him. Brock resigned from the Priorities USA board.

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Milbank: Hillary Clinton rebrands Obamas frat house as her own