With a nod to Middle America and a dose of self-effacement, Hillary Clinton jumped into the 2016 presidential race as expected Sunday with a low-key announcement designed to show her empathetic side and demonstrate that she is a candidate of the future, not a politician from the past.
“It’s official,” said Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta in an email to her supporters and the media. “Hillary’s running for president.” Referring to one of her main campaign themes, Podesta added: “We need to make the middle class mean something again.”
In an official video released Sunday, Clinton pledged to be a champion for everyday people. “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top,” she said. “Everyday Americans need a champion and I want to be that champion.” She said she would adopt economic policies so middle class Americans “can do more than just get by, you can get ahead and stay ahead, because when families are strong, America is strong.”
Clinton, 67, plans to kick off her campaign with more social media messages to backers and stops this week in Iowa, which holds the first nominating contest of the 2016 presidential cycle.
[READ: The Hillary Clinton Paradox]
Expanding on her message, campaign manager Robby Mook told Clinton’s political team Saturday that the election “is not about Hillary Clinton and not about us — it’s about the everyday Americans who are trying to build a better life for themselves and their families.” The campaign statement, leaked to the news media, called for humility and collegiality within Team Clinton, an apparent reference to the damaging air of inevitability and internal sniping that plagued her effort in 2008, when she lost the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama.
Clinton hasn’t campaigned since 2008 and some Democratic allies fear that she’s rusty and has yet to figure out how to convey to Americans that she is truly in touch with their concerns.
This remains to be seen, and much will be revealed during her campaign rollout in the coming weeks. Advisers say she will emphasize policies designed to increase wages and end income stagnation for the middle class. She will also emphasize her role as potentially the first woman president of the United States. This will mean talking extensively about social issues that have special appeal to women, such as reducing income inequality, providing for more family leave and expanding access to child care.
Clinton is expected to raise $2 billion for her campaign.
Polls show that Clinton is far in front of her prospective rivals for the Democratic nomination. Among those considering the race are Vice President Joe Biden, former Sen. and Gov. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia.
In some ways, the campaign will be about the future versus the past, change versus continuity, and much will depend on how Clinton positions herself. She is talking about contemporary issues and public concerns about the future. But at the same time she has been part of the nation’s political debate for the past generation, ever since she emerged as a key adviser to her husband Bill Clinton in his successful quest for the presidency in 1992 and then during her role as first lady from 1993 to 2001. She was also a U.S. senator from New York and was President Obama’s secretary of state for his first term. So Clinton certainly has strong connections to Democratic policies of the past.
She also must decide how much she links herself to Obama and to former President Clinton as a matter of Democratic continuity, and how much she stakes out new ground as her own person. In fundamental ways, this is what her 2016 campaign will be all about.
Republicans scoffed at news of her announcement. “Americans need a president they can trust and voters do not trust Hillary Clinton,” said Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee in a news release. “Over decades as a Washington insider, Clinton has left a trail of secrecy, scandal and failed policies that can’t be erased from voters’ minds. The Clintons believe they can play by a different set of rules and think they’re above transparency, accountability and ethic. Our next president must represent a higher standard, and that is not Hillary Clinton….Clinton’s coronation represents more of the same, and voters have made it clear they want a new direction.”
