Hillary Clinton to Show More Humor and Heart, Aides Say

[applegrove]

Hillary Clinton to Show More Humor and Heart, Aides Say

By AMY CHOZICK at the NY Times

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/us/politics/hillary-clinton-to-show-more-humor-and-heart-aides-say.html?referrer=&_r=0

"SNIP.............


There will be no more flip jokes about her private email server. There will be no rope lines to wall off crowds, which added to an impression of aloofness. And there will be new efforts to bring spontaneity to a candidacy that sometimes seems wooden and overly cautious.

Hillary Rodham Clinton declared her campaign for president nearly five months ago, before the startling rise of Senator Bernie Sanders, the volcanic candidacy of Donald J. Trump and the very public exploration of another White House run by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

In extensive interviews by telephone and at their Brooklyn headquarters last week, Mrs. Clinton’s strategists acknowledged missteps — such as their slow response to questions about her email practices — and promised that this fall the public would see the sides of Mrs. Clinton that are often obscured by the noise and distractions of modern campaigning.

They want to show her humor. The self-effacing kind (“The hair is real, the color isn’t,” she said of her blond bob recently, taking note of Mr. Trump.) has played better than her sarcastic retorts, such as when she asked if wiping a computer server was done “with a cloth.”


...............SNIP"

[Divernan]

38. Roy Rogers estate to lend her Pat Butram's Jeep, Nelly Belle?

Or perhaps Mr. Ed is available.

Or a barking dog. Woof! Woof! Woof!

What's that Lassie? You've found the missing Rose law firm billing records?
Good dog!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

69. Stealing Reagan's approach?

[tularetom]

2. There's no such thing as a personality transplant

You just can't take a paranoid, suspicious, humorless bookish introvert and make him or her into an outgoing, jovial people person.

But the attempt to create Hillary Clinton 2.0 should be a hoot to watch.

[Metric System]

4. People who know her and have worked with her LIKE her, so there must be something to it.

[cali]

20. I'm sure there is. but she and her campaign don't seem to able to project

that.

[askew]

9. We are on to Hillary Clinton 5.0 by now.

She's reintroduced herself 2 times on this campaign already and we have been subjected to 2 painful re-boots. And with each one her favorability #s and trustworthy #s go down. No focus group can fix what is wrong with her.

[AtomicKitten]

22. Maybe she'll find her voice in New Hampshire again.

It's almost show time.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

52. Hillary got a bump last time showing emotion - did make her seem more human. Though, not gonna work this time.

Bernie's got this one wrapped up.

[Duckhunter935]

59. she cried

there are better ways to show emotion. Bernie shows plenty and does not cry.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

110. Hillary comes across as stiff and rehearsed. Maybe a couple shots of tequila would help; does for me!

[KoKo]

114. Or she jumped to Win 8.0 without the tweak?

[hifiguy]

125. There have been more New Hillarys than New Nixons.

Nuff said.

[razorman]

27. Quite right. I don't see how you can plan "spontaneity", as it were.

[VanillaRhapsody]

40. There is such a thing as Michelle Obama's publicist however...

who is now Hillary Clinton's too!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

50. Smart move actually to make Hillary seem more personable - it just might work on some of the more gullible.

[AndreaCG]

86. That's not only rude but unfounded

I've heard from numerous people how personable and funny Hillary is in person. Moreover I've witnessed her making wise cracks on the news. Unfortunately, the press has been so unkind to her for 20+ years that it's probably made it harder for her to relax on camera.

What I do think she could work on is a monotone delivery when giving speeches.

[CTyankee]

121. She HAS improved on the head nodding...that used to drive me crazy...

but honestly, I've seen this kind of guarded secrecy in other organizations where women are in control. They get very controlling sometimes and look like they aren't telling the truth even if they really ARE. It's a problem.

[ibegurpard]

3. we don't need humor and heart

Just tell us what you actually think about shit! Not answers like "well if it's still an issue when I'm president I'll answer..."

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

53. Everyone likes a good mystery...the suspense is killin me!

[PatrickforO]

78. Yeah, the trouble is that in waiting for the proverbial

shoe to drop, when she's president we might find that shoe drops on us.

[hifiguy]

126. "I have a secret plan to end the war in Vietnam...."

Heard that one before...

[madaboutharry]

5. IMHO, I think this is Hillary's problem.

There is always a sense of not being sure who she is. She may be the most sincere of people, but it always seems insincere. That may not be fair, but it comes across that way.

[applegrove]

6. I've seen her in in depth interviews and she's warm and lovely.

[madaboutharry]

8. But then the next day she is not

warm and lovely. She would be secretive and defensive. The inconsistency is a big problem. She would likely be a very good president, but she gets in her own way too much of the time.

[Doctor_J]

109. canned, scripted, climate controlled interviews are easy

[Puzzledtraveller]

10. I get the same impression.

I think if she were more genuine we would know it and it would feel like this is really her. Too often it feels like she is trying to be someone different depending on who she is trying to appeal to and it comes off as phony. I often wonder if it's mostly bad advice from her advisers' saying you need to sound southern when you talk in the south for example not realizing that we easily see through this.

[askew]

13. It's not the staffers, it's her.

She's changed most of her staff over but she still stinks as a candidate. At some point we have to admit the problem is with her and no staffers can fix the problem.

[cali]

21. yep. she dances around the issues and too often she

comes off as insincere and imperious.

[VanillaRhapsody]

42. It is unfair because I know people that know her personally....

and NONE say these things about her.....

[cali]

107. this isn't about fair or unfair.

[hifiguy]

127. And after 20+ years in the public spotlight

perception is reality.

[morningfog]

115. It is because she cares only about her power and shifts

to wherever the focus groups and campaign managers tells her to go. She doesn't have a "humor" or "personality" problem, she has a huge "inauthenticity" problem. And that is not something that can be corrected.

[TheFarS1de]

7. As Sanders keeps saying ...

the problem is trial by personality and not by policy . This is just more of the same old regurgitated politicking that has gotten everyone into this mess in the first place . She should just focus on the policies that matter . Enough of identity politics .

[HereSince1628]

11. Oh, that should be pretty authentic

[askew]

12. How deluded is Hillary and her campaign that they actually thought the

listening tour and soft-focused ads about her mom were going to make her seem sincere. Not when she won't tell us about her positions on many issues and has resisted giving voters specifics.

It's incredibly insulting that her campaign thinks this can be fixed by Hillary showing us humor. That's not why voters don't like her. It's because she is evasive, lies and refuses to tell us her positions.

[VanillaRhapsody]

44. Not nearly as deluded as taking Cornel West with you to South Carolina...

when you desperately need Black votes!

[PatrickforO]

81. This is interesting.

I know that Cornell West has been pretty outspoken in his feelings about Obama. Now, to my mind, Obama has been a pretty good president, and he will go down in history as being a very successful, perhaps great president. However, there are some things Obama has done/not done that have been disappointing to me. The real truth is that the inequality of wealth is worse now than when Obama took office, and you can say he had a big mess which is true, and lock-step opposition from Republicans who are little more than traitors, which is also true.

But Cornell's been cutting him down pretty bad. The logic is that in the African-American community, Obama is very, very popular, so to cut him down risks alienating that community.

However, as with any group, I don't think we can say the AA community is monolithic. I'm thinking each person will make up their own mind.

Still, it may be that taking Cornell 'in tow' to S. Carolina might be a disaster for Bernie. I'm not thinking it will, though, because Cornell West IS part of that community and will at least be listened to. Why do you think the move will make Bernie's standing with the AA community worse? It has been getting better...

[cherokeeprogressive]

84. In keeping with the rollout of Hillary (insert version number here) this post should have included

a rimshot.

[Agony]

14. what? no more… "We came, we saw, he died" humor...

just stop… please? stop.

[Mass]

15. Those aides need to be fired.

Saying that she will bring more humor and heart is falling right into stereotypes about Hillary. She is seen as calculated and insincere (whether it is justified or not). Now, we have aides saying she will show more heart and humor.

It looks like she will be insincere doing that. This interview is professional malpractice.

[cali]

18. it's the candidate. all new campaign, same as the last one.

[Mass]

23. I agree, but they did not need to say it to the media.

Reinvention is the sign of a failing campaign. This I terview is beyond stupid.

[Warren DeMontague]

34. Kinder, Gentler Inevitability.

A user-friendly coronation, maybe?

[virtualobserver]

102. Message: I'm authentic

credit to poppy bush

[Motown_Johnny]

16. Reinvented once again.

I give it six weeks

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

55. That red reset button comes in handy.

[Motown_Johnny]

62. Sooner or later it is gonna wear out. n/t

[hedda_foil]

87. It's a good thing Putin let her keep it, then.

[cali]

17. calculated spontaneity! Carefully mapped out self-effacing humor!

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. Canned humor? Which of her aides/advisors will be responsible for the laugh track?

That way, when nobody laughs they can play it under the bleachers and claim someone actually did.

[Warren DeMontague]

45. Seinfeld is probably too edgy, but I know kids today really enjoy that "Mork and Mindy"

Some Mork from Ork jokes, that'll get her in with the younger voters.

[cherokeeprogressive]

65. Maybe have her call Bill "Meathead" while he's standing on stage next to her?

Or the next time BLM makes an appearance at her event (lol fat chance) she could say "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

[Divernan]

105. That would fit right in with her fake "no way ready" southern accent

Great post. If laughing is good for one's health, this thread has added YEARS to my life!

[Bjorn Against]

24. You know there is a lack of authenticity when campaign aides announce a candidate's changed behavior

[slipslidingaway]

75. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ n/t

[Arugula Latte]

89. I thought for a second that this article might be satire. ... Nope.

[KoKo]

117. She's scrapping the phrase "everyday Americans"

From the NYT Article...which does read like "The Onion:"

While Mrs. Clinton’s central message will remain focused on addressing income inequality and lifting the middle class, she is scrapping the phrase “everyday Americans,” which advisers said was confusing and did not resonate. (One compared it to the Walmart slogan, “Everyday low prices.”)

Mrs. Clinton will still invoke the joy brought into her life by her granddaughter, Charlotte, but, given the child’s obvious advantages and privilege, will speak more broadly about building a better future for all Americans’ children and grandchildren.

[hifiguy]

128. Blammo.

1000% correct.

[cali]

25. they are focus group and poll testing her every gesture and phrase. it's insane.

[Purveyor]

26. Sad actually... eom

[cali]

30. it really is. she is just not cut out for campaigning.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

57. What choice does Hillary have? She can't be herself, so prolly a smart political move.

[SMC22307]

76. Why can't she be herself?

And what is that, exactly?

[hifiguy]

129. I wonder if she knows anymore.

And I am not being snarky. It's kind of sad.

[SMC22307]

131. It is. I caught a clip of her on the PBS News Hour tonight...

where she apologized for the personal server, and it came across as carefully calculated and very insincere. Like a group of aides advised her on what to say and how to say it, and it just wasn't believable.

[Flying Squirrel]

103. Kinda reminds you of Rocky IV a bit, doesn't it?

The Russian fighter, doing all the carefully calculated exercises in a controlled environment while Rocky's out hauling a sled around in the snow followed by Russian spies?

[Duckhunter935]

28. Rollout 3.0?

[cali]

29. what this so starkly reveals is how worried they are.

[applegrove]

32. So nobody has ever tweaked a campaign? Ever?

[cali]

43. this isn't tweaking a campaign. it's an attempt at a personality remake

And the amount of focus group and poll testing is stunning. No wonder she comes off as calculated. In any case, you don't tweak a campaign that's going well.

[Flying Squirrel]

104. Al Gore springs to mind...

We all know how that personality reboot went over.

[cali]

108. that is a very good comparison.

[KoKo]

113. Wasn't he told he needed to wear "Earth Tones"

or something? And he needed to show more passion for Tipper?

As I remember the media harped on about that for months making fun of him.

Maybe she hired those same advisers...or, she has a mole in her campaign who put this out there to the NYT.

[cherokeeprogressive]

118. It led to the fake kiss. n/t

[jfern]

31. She just comes across as robotic

The thing she did that helped her the most was right before the NH 2008 primary, she had some tears. That reminded people that she was actually human and not some robot that uses the output of focus groups to decide how to triangulate and obfuscate the issues.

[Warren DeMontague]

33. responding to data from polling and focus groups, the candidate has decided to appear more genuine.

...

[HappyPlace]

41. Will there be a new Logo? Will it be Tweeted?

Twittered, twooted, I don't know...

New logo, that's the ticket!

[kath]

94. Ha! Nailed it. Nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

111. We are pleased to announce patch 3.04

We are pleased to announce patch 3.04 being released. The following items have been added to the patch notes.

Now able to express up to 4 different emotional states.

Realistic beating heart and sound.

Popularity meter added, allowing her use TotallyHonestTM reaction ability to claim she stands with Warren against banks.

Comes with free "I'm not the status quo, I swear." bumper sticker.

We here at {company name here} appreciate your inevitable vote of Hillary, citizen friend. Please stay tuned for further updates, including the ability to engage in debates

[arcane1]

35. All this emphasis on "persona" distracts from positions and policies. Audition replaces Election.

I don't give a flying rat's ass about a candidate's "self-effacing humor". It's not a screen test to pick who will play president on television.

Hell, maybe it is.

[whatchamacallit]

36. "Hey Pete, reach behind her and flip the Humor/Heart switch on"

[Divernan]

47. Winner,winner,chicken dinner.Made me snort out loud & scare my cat!

[BeyondGeography]

37. We're fucked

[Warren DeMontague]

39. I think she should show the kids she's hip. Maybe have The Crash Test Dummies play at her events.

Or Hootie and The Blowfish? How about them Hanson boys? I hear today's youth loves to listen to that stuff on their portable CD players.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

68. Wait, I KNOW! ! ! ! She could approach a group of teens playing BBall

& and ask them, "Who let the dogs out?"

[zappaman]

70. Oh God....

I didn't even click on it.
Just seeing that dudes face and the title gave me an ear worm.
Why would you do something so cruel?

[Warren DeMontague]

85. because I am a connoisseur of all that sucks

I don't know why, I was inspired.

Hey, at least it wasn't

[Autumn]

46. Mrs. Clinton’s strategists who decided to go on record and say these things

should be fired. This is the Hillary problem in a nutshell. Pollsters focus groups and poll tested are the things that define her and people know it.

[jfern]

48. The Republicans will probably save up their most brutal attacks

of Hillary until a couple of days before the election so that she doesn't have time to have a response focus group tested.

[Divernan]

49. Her choice of advisors is rather frightening, isn't it?

She has tons of money to hire the best. Isn't anyone competent in charge of her staff?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

51. Our polls indicate that the Client suffers from current deficits in factors 3.1b through 3.1ss, plus

The inverse impact of factors 16.17.1, 16.20a-f, and of course the ever critical 21-7/5v.601 measure suggested strongly that our campaign has to target the deficiency with blanket advertising. The intended ad push should aim to convey the impression of having a working pump-based organ connected to the aorta, (despite the obvious success a previous VP had with a mechanical one). At the same time the candidate must refrain from offering any opinion on any issue that we have not yet polled, analysed or categorized appropriately. Our current crop of creative writers may not have the necessary skill set to draft such "ad lib'd" commentary on short notice. Please give us advance notice before the client tries to show "heart." Or, give us the authority to hire new writers.

Also, field samples of multiple potential voters, across 6 representative states (based on N- z x i(3-z) based sampling, weighing former Obama supporters and potential Bernie fans, with x+(n - n(x/3.14z)/z-2n(n~n+2) when z is great than 7, are indicative that "humor" must be injected into her few, controlled, and pre-arranged, and deliberately limited public appearances. We suggest running several confidential tests to determine the appropriate level of "humor" that her campaign could tolerate, given the admitted limitations of The Client's capacity to present such an effort, requiring strong preparation of the authors to fully understand clearly by whom this "humor" will be presented.

It is the unanimous view of the committee (for the 16th time, just to remind you) that we strongly STRONGLY urge that the Client views videos of both her performance when employing "humor" while at the same time, and viewing audience reactions, to drive home the point that her humor gene appears to have been removed in utero, i.e. prior to birth. With weak candidates such as our previously predicted governor from NJ or WI, both of whom have little or no "humor" abilities, they still mange to make an audience laugh. To be fair, in the recent past this appears to be accidental, and not by design. Still, they have far more "humor" ability than the Client has capacity to present.

Need we remind the Client's campaign staff that we again suggest a professional acting coach? Perhaps even asking the Client's spouse to provide some helpful hints?

[applegrove]

54. Hillary is a good egg. She's a nice person. Her heart is in the right place. A lot of effort on your

part though. I'll give you that.

[Warren DeMontague]

100. Maybe she should ditch the advisers and ACT from the heart, then.

I question whether she can, at this point, or if she's been poll-testing and trial-ballooning and sample-sizing and focus-grouping for so long, she knows no other way.

Here's an idea- every crazy fucking position her beltway goons are telling her to avoid answering a question on, every radioactive issue they tell her she absolutely MUSTNT talk about, she should just get freaky and say "fuck it" and give an actual clear position. Talk for 3 hours, unscripted. Open questions. What the hell. Everything her advisers are telling her NOT to do, do that.

Like Bob Dylan said, "when you got nothin, you got nothin to lose"

[ibegurpard]

134. this

absolutely! fire every one of those political consultant bubble fucks and let 'er rip.
People know when they are getting authenticity...whether they agree with it or not they will respect it.

[Divernan]

61. Absolutely brilliant! This is a really entertaining thread.

[beam me up scottie]

64. LOLOLOL!

Well done, Chairman!

[kath]

95. Ohmigod, I'm dyin' here!

Good one, Chairman.

[ram2008]

56. She's Mitt Romney in a pant-suit

No amount of focus group/poll testing/ and or re-branding will be able to fix her authenticity problem.

[askew]

58. This is it in a nutshell.

She just can't be authentic. I don't think any amount of focus groups or staffer interventions can fix a candidate this flawed. She never had to learn retail politics as she jumped right into a Senate seat that was basically handed to her on a platter. O'Malley and Sanders both ran for local office and have years of experience in retail politics. They aren't focus grouped or overly managed. That is going to help both of them in NH and IA.

[cali]

60. no she isn't.

[Armstead]

63. Has she been DELIBERATLY not showing humor and heart so far?

[840high]

72. Yes - she's been saving her

bubbly and caring self.

[azmom]

133. For years

[Buns_of_Fire]

116. Soon to appear on a platform near you: Hillary Unchained! nt

[KoKo]

122. Bill Clinton has been "Unchained" according to the article

So...maybe that's the real Plan B?

From NYT article:

And her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who has had virtually no presence on the campaign trail, will begin to travel the country to help with fund-raising this fall, with his first event planned for Chicago on Sept. 17.

[Divernan]

66. HRC & staff make "VEEP" look like a documentary.

[Ino]

67. "efforts to bring spontaneity"...

You can't fake spontaneity! Although, as with all other marks of authenticity, Clinton will try.

And fail.

[frylock]

71. And what's the deal with airplane food? Amirite?

[cherokeeprogressive]

74. "and the guy's wife says... only if he's been drinking."

[Buns_of_Fire]

120. "...take my husband... Please..."

I'm thinking Bob Hope with maybe a dash of Rodney Dangerfield. Or maybe Bill could be persuaded to do an updated version of "Who's on First?" at the convention.

Phyllis Diller-style might be a little too edgy, and Lucille Ball did more physical comedy than is usually called for during a presidential debate. Definitely NOT Soupy Sales (grounds for immediate dismissal).

But first: fire all the "advisors" and hire on some good comedy writers. They couldn't do a much worse job with her image than the people she seems to be listening to now.

[cherokeeprogressive]

123. Dangerfield's "no respect" shtick combined with Carol Burnett's ineptitude.

Or the NYC comic's (whose name escapes me) neurotic bit.

[PatrickforO]

77. It is troubling that Clinton needs 'handlers' to guide her in

'showing more humor and heart.'

To me, having to be coached in how to not seem wooden, overly cautious and aloof makes me not think she has the necessary personal ingredients to be president.

Which is why I support Bernie, because with him what you see is what you get, and he doesn't 'evolve' with focus groups and public opinion. That is very refreshing.

[ibegurpard]

80. She needs to fire her staff

And start giving her real unvarnished opinions. Will she catch flack for it? Of course she will! But people will know where she stands on things. We don't need to see her being "warm and fuzzy"...that's not the problem.

[PatrickforO]

83. I agree with that. I'd much rather hear an unvarnished opinion than some pabulum

that has been developed from focus groups and polling. Honesty goes a long way.

[NCjack]

79. Copy Bernie. In plain English, say where you would lead America. Fire your handlers and pollsters.

You know where to lead us to -- they don't know as well as you. No more evasions of questions. Deal breaker for me if I don't like the answer to these questions: What are you going to do about the CEOs stealing money and the 1% avoiding taxes? You don't need a poll to answer.

[Live and Learn]

82. I think the majority of us would prefer authentic.

However, with all the handling she has endured (and I include her husband in there too), I'm not even sure she knows who she really is anymore.

[Arugula Latte]

88. Wow. It's as if everything she does is run past a committee. Very sad.

And she's been a public figure for a few decades now. Didn't she ever learn what Mom said -- "Just be yourself?"

[MannyGoldstein]

90. Hillary 7.3!

I know I'm just a terrible, awful hater, but these kinds of announcements - of a new and improved candidate - just blow my mind.

They're people, not software ferchrissakes. At least I think they are.

[kath]

96. I dunno - maybe she's like the creation in the film Ex Machina.

For some reason that movie just popped into my head...

[Cheese Sandwich]

91. I clicked thinking it would be The Onion

nope

[RufusTFirefly]

92. Shades of "the new Nixon" n/t

[applegrove]

93. WOW!

[Warren DeMontague]

98. Show Tunes.

Everybody loves Show Tunes!

[global1]

99. It Almost Looks Like Her Staff Is Trying To Sabotage Her........

as it seems that they keep giving her wrong advice/direction.

And on this do-over - instead of letting the humor and heart of Hillary just blossom forth spontaneously - they are telegraphing to the whole world that they want to change Hillary's ways.

They are telling us that they want the public to see the sides of Mrs. Clinton that are often obscured by the noise and distractions of modern campaigning. They want to show her humor. The self-effacing kind that plays better than her sarcastic retorts, such as when she asked if wiping a computer server was done “with a cloth.”

They are telling us that they are picking up Hillary's negatives from comments, newspaper accounts and focus groups and they are going to have Hillary change her ways so she plays better in Peoria.

And the surprising thing is that - Hillary is going to go along with this change and we're going to see Hillary try to force out a new personality - a bogus, contrived personality. Any wonder why people are suspicious of Hillary? That they question her honesty and trustworthiness?

This makes me question her judgement and ability to hire the right people for the job. If she can't hire a decent campaign staff that will help her get to the White House - how is she going to handle things should she actually get to the White House? Who is she going to surround herself with?

Will we ever see the genuine Hillary? Or are we always going to be seeing the focus group directed Hillary? Is that a way to run a campaign for the presidency?

[KoKo]

124. This is the Concern from Fellow Dems going forward......

Exactly what you say.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

101. Is she evolving....again?

[restorefreedom]

106. oh good, that'll save us

no need to worry about, you know, policy and stuff like that.

it's all in the packaging with the establishment types.....how rovian

another reason why they are cluless and why bernie is going to run away with this....

[Shrek]

112. The SNL writers will love this

I hope Kate McKinnon gets paid by the skit.

[90-percent]

119. Sincerity

She's as warm and lovable and transformed as much as Nixon's "Operation Candor" after Watergate broke.

I simply do not like her. The Bush Clinton dynasty part. I don't like anointed American Royalty. Her ties to big money and big power and her fully accredited membership into the "powers that be" club are liabilities to me.

She is the ultimate "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." to me.

And her IWR and Patriot Act votes clinch it for me. I will vote for her if nominated. The lesser of two PTB evils is still relatively better....


-90% Jimmy

[MuseRider]

130. This is not good.

Who let this out of the bag? It sounds bad for her. It reminds me of the make-over that Donna Brazille did to Al Gore.

Too bad. Really, I do mean this. Hillary is who she is, this is just window dressing and to announce it is just awful I think.

[PowerToThePeople]

132. The Stepford Candidate. n/t

[demwing]

135. She must have run a poll...

Last edited Wed Sep 9, 2015, 10:08 AM - Edit history (1)