What Clinton Is Missing

Paul Waldman: “Right now, the Clinton campaign has a much bigger problem than the story it wants to tell about New Hampshire. That problem is this: the campaign has no story to tell the voters about Hillary Clinton and why she should be president. … She doesn’t have a clear diagnosis of the problem the country faces, nor does she have an explanation of what the solution is, nor can she say why only she can bring about the better future voters are hoping for. Of course, Clinton can make a persuasive argument for her preferred solution on any policy area you can name. She also has a strong argument for why Sanders is being unrealistic about much of what he wants to do, an argument I basically agree with. And if you asked, she could tell you all about her ample qualifications for the presidency. But it doesn’t add up to a coherent story.”

Brendan Nyhan: “Mrs. Clinton has instead focused on her experience and electability, but that strategy offers little to motivate Democrats to vote for her. Her realism about the prospects for the Sanders agenda is implicitly dispiriting about the prospects for liberal domestic policy change in her presidency as well. Indeed, she often sounds as if she were acquiescing to a status quo that Democrats find objectionable. However implausible it may be, the prospect of a Sanders ‘political revolution’ at least offers a formula for change.”

“Mrs. Clinton will continue to struggle until she clarifies the stakes of the campaign — why does being more electable matter? … Until she fixes her flawed message, Mrs. Clinton’s aides are right to worry about an enthusiasm gap in her race against Mr. Sanders. When it comes to firing up the party faithful, you can’t beat something with nothing.”