Will Hillary Clinton Be More Accessible to Voters in 2016?
Not long ago Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, invited a political reporter to ride in the backseat of an old Volvo as he made a few stops around Keene State College in New Hampshire.
Dont run over the students, he cautioned the aide who was driving, when a few kids crossed in front of the car.
Mr. Sanders might run for president in the next campaign. Because hed be a long shot, he can afford to take a few risks and let the press and by extension, voters see him in an unscripted setting.
Candidates with a better shot at the brass ring would never chance it. Fearing consequences of an incautious comment, they rely on teleprompters and aides, advance staff and security to minimize the sort of spontaneous interactions that can derail a campaign.
This brings us to Hillary Clinton.
Mrs. Clinton also is contemplating a presidential run, and she stands a far better chance of winning the White House than Mr. Sanders. Dont count on her opening up her SUV to the national press corps.
Yet if she does run, some Democrats and friends of Mrs. Clinton say theyd like to see her escape from the bubble a bit more, perhaps reveal more of her character and personality than the public ordinarily gets to see.
Speaking of her last presidential bid, Alan Kessler, a longtime Democratic fundraiser, spoke of this perception that there was a wall around her.
Unless you were a hugely important elected official or a major donor, there was no way to touch her, he said. Its this whole aura around her. Thats what doomed her in 2008 and theyre going to have to find a way in this campaign to do away with that.
Susie Tompkins Buell is a longtime friend of Mrs. Clinton. She described an occasion over the summer where she and the former secretary of state were visiting in a home in the Hamptons. Ms. Buell cut her foot and Mrs. Clinton quickly began rummaging through a medicine cabinet looking for a Band-Aid, refusing to give up the search even after Ms. Buell told her it wasnt necessary.
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Will Hillary Clinton Be More Accessible to Voters in 2016?