Clinton allies look with despair at the Democratic front-runner’s response to controversies so far.
“A swifter, fuller explanation would never be enough for the most virulent of Clinton-haters, but Democrats looking for leadership and authenticity needed that explanation six months ago,” Christy Setzer, a Democratic strategist who heads up communication firm New Heights Communications, said of Clinton’s comments last week. “Voters are hungry for a positive alternative to the hateful spew of Donald Trump and others on the Republican side, but the Clinton conversation is still dominated by the email server issue and even the base is losing patience.”
Clinton loyalists say it speaks to the former secretary of State’s nature. She isn’t one to give a knee-jerk reaction, even to stories about her.
“Hillary Clinton is by nature a very thoughtful, deliberative person who wants to gather and analyze facts before deciding on a course of action,” said one former longtime aide. “Those are great qualities in a leader, though it does have its drawbacks in a campaign environment.
“Still, better to end up in the right place than to start off on the wrong foot,” the former aide added.
“You have to think there’s some internal tension between some of the newer hands in the press shop who fully understand the need to get ahead of the story and some of the older hands who may be of the ‘never apologize, never explain’ school. But whatever the reason, it’s killing them,” she said.
