Hillary is the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee. She has a large double-digit lead over other potential contenders.
The one thing Hillary doesn’t have, however, is grassroots enthusiasm. Her support as the presumptive nominee is a mile wide and an inch deep. She’s popular because of name recognition and organizational power. No one wants to be on Bill and Hillary’s enemies list.
But Hillary has an image problem, as reflected in this Jay Leno appearance, via The Daily Caller:
Comedian Jay Leno says he likes presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, but she just seems so old.Speaking of Clinton on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” Friday, Leno commented, “I don’t see the fire.”“Her and Elizabeth Warren are almost the same age,” Leno said, comparing Hillary to the Massachusetts senator beloved by the left wing of the Democratic Party. “And I see Elizabeth Warren come out — ‘boom’ — throwing punches. ‘Boom, boom, boom, boom.’”“And I like her,” Leno continued, speaking of Hillary. “But she seems to be sort of, she seems very slow and very — I don’t see that fire, you know, that fire that I used to see, that I see in Elizabeth Warren. Because I say to people, ‘how much younger is Elizabeth Warren than Hillary?’ And people go, ‘oh, 15 years.’ No! 18 months.”
Elizabeth Warren, by contrast? She’s intriguing:
I stand by my prediction that should Elizabeth Warren challenge Hillary, Hillary’s support would evaporate.
But Warren has her own problem. She may not be electable in a national general election, as this Hillary money man worries, Via Washington Free Beacon:
Is Elizabeth Warren making a major Hillary Clinton backer nervous?Marc Lasry, CEO of Avenue Capital Group, took shots at Elizabeth Warren on Thursday saying, “I think the press for whatever reason loves Elizabeth Warren. I think Elizabeth Warren would have no shot of being president.”Lasry came to Hillary’s defense soon after Elizabeth Warren took digs at the Clintons in her speech at the AFL-CIO Summit on Raising Wages. The comments made on CNBC’s Squawk Box will only do more to increase tensions between the camps of the Democrat presidential hopefuls.Asked about Hillary being pushed to the left, Lasry said, “She is who she is.”
These competing narratives count. The culture matters. Old and stale easily could become (if it’s not already) Hillary’s narrative, while Warren’s is exciting but not ready for presidential prime time.
These are not invented narratives made up by Republican operatives, these are narratives voiced by Democrats themselves. Republicans should make sure these narratives stick, and do so now.
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