I think this is good news: "Obama Campaign Chiefs Meet Quietly With Clinton In Harlem"

[Pirate Smile]

Obama Campaign Chiefs Meet Quietly With Clinton In Harlem



Joe Conason

President Obama’s top political operatives – including campaign chief adviser David Axelrod – traveled from Chicago and Washington to the headquarters of the William Jefferson Clinton foundation in Harlem last Wednesday afternoon for a meeting with the former president and two of his top aides. The topic? How to reelect the current president – including some very specific advice from Clinton, according to sources who present.

-snip-
“We were the ones who reached out for the conversation,” said one of the participants from the Obama campaign, who confirmed the details. “We did so to lay out the landscape for the (former) president as we see it, but our particular interest was to receive his insights, and we were fortunate enough to benefit from them.” The same source said that they hope and expect to engage regularly with Clinton.

As the meeting began, the Obama aides laid out their sense of the political landscape, their polling data on attitudes among voters in the Democratic base and independents who might be truly undecided, the shaping of their message and their campaign’s organizational structure across the country. They also frankly discussed findings from voter focus groups that the campaign has conducted in recent months. Much of the presentation dealt with battleground states such as North Carolina, Virginia, Nevada, and Arizona, where Obama prevailed four years ago but faces more difficult odds next year.

Having absorbed all this information, Clinton peppered the Obama operatives with dozens of probing questions and specific suggestions, not only concerning their strategy and message but how to handle the leading Republican candidates, too. Economic conditions and how to address them dominated the discussion. What most interested the Obama team were Clinton’s insights on heartland voting blocs that remain in the political middle: Not the Republican-leaning independents who always end up voting for the GOP nominee, but the truly uncommitted who largely ended up supporting Obama in 2008.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/article/obama-campaign-chief-meets-quietly-clinton-harlem

>> "the meeting ended with the Obama group telling the former president something he may already have surmised: They want him actively involved in the re-election campaign and expect to engage him regularly in the months ahead."

[DURHAM D]

1. Very interesting that Obama traveled to him -

and not the other way around.

[Richardo]

2. A former president would not presume to offer unsolicited advice.

Obama's team pretty much had to go to Clinton.

[DURHAM D]

6. Not really -

formers get asked to the oval all the time.

[Richardo]

13. OK, what I meant is it has to be the incumbent's initiative.

Which wasn't your point - I can see that now. You were referring to their going to NYC.

[Enrique]

3. whole lotta triangulatin' goin' on n/t

[gateley]

4. "...Obama aides laid out their sense of the political landscape..."

I'm curious as to "what sense" they have. I'm hopeful they have an accurate read on the State of the People.

[gateley]

5. Do you guys think Obama will place too much trust in what Clinton

suggests? He's definitely got the experience and understanding and wisdom, but his points may not be the know-alls/end-alls.

I hope they don't shut out other valid input.

[JNelson6563]

7. I doubt he would.

He has a lot of smart people with a lot of political experience to talk to. For starters there's our awesome VP Joe Biden. :)

Team Clinton let Penn drive their bus (metaphorically speaking, of course) and that showed some pretty bad political judgement. Team Obama will not soon forget that.

Julie

[DURHAM D]

8. They should ask Penn for advice and then do the opposite. nt

[Pirate Smile]

9. That's good advice.

[JNelson6563]

15. Exactly!

[SkyDaddy7]

11. I doubt it...

After all Obama destroyed/outsmarted/outperformed the Clintons in 2008 so I think Obama knows what advice to take & what advice to pass on.

[mkultra]

14. the Bill Clinton Campaign was much more adept than the Hillary Clinton campaign

Bill's team took control and won despite severe criticism. Obama would be wise to take his council.

[SkyDaddy7]

18. Of course Obama should listen to what Bill has to say...

And his campaign is doing just that. However, Bill is not perfect nor is he infallible, so, like I said before I trust Obama knows what advice to take & what advice to pass on.

[DoBotherMe]

10. k & r

Dana ; )

[flpoljunkie]

12. Interesting.

Thanks for the post and link--tho it's easier to read with less bold print.

:)

[JoePhilly]

16. There are plenty of places where Clinton can campaign for Obama and help.

That's just a fact. There are plenty of areas Clinton can go and be more effective than Obama might be, southern states for instance.

I doubt you'll see the eventual GOP candidate having Bush act as a surrogate during the general election.

[woo me with science]

17. Of course they want him involved.

They have an empathy problem right now. The 99 percent are massing in the streets.

Clinton was the master at slipping through Republican trade policies even while convincing Americans that he felt their pain.