Hillary Follow

Following last week's Democratic debate in Iowa, The Fix had the unique opportunity to sit in on focus groups conducted by The Washington Post. Clinton campaigning in Iowa earlier this month with her mother, Dorothy Rodham (AP Photo) During the Democratic session, led by The Post's Dan Balz and David Broder, the group of 11 undecided voters was asked for their impressions about the debate and their general thoughts about the field of candidates. As always when a group of Democrats are gathered, the conversation was dominated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and revealed the problems and potential Clinton has in Iowa and beyond. Asked to say whatever first came to mind when Clinton's name was mentioned, the group offered a fascinating panoply of descriptions. "Can't be trusted," said one. "I just got a glimpse that she's got an evil side to her," said another. A third offered a backhanded compliment of sorts: "Very good at saying what she thinks we want to hear." Others were more positive in their remarks -- if not effusive. "Work ethic," said one; "I think she's really focused," said another. The comments signal a larger theme when it comes to voters' views in Iowa and nationally about Clinton. She is widely respected but not widely liked. Time and again in last week's focus group, the voters said they had few doubts about Clinton's ability to do the job of president; they also expressed a frustration with the essential unknowability of Clinton as a person. That paradox is born out in scads of polling data: Democrats believe in huge margins that Clinton is the candidate best able to win back the White House in 2008. The surveys simultaneously show the New York senator scoring far less well on more personality driven questions. In The Post's most recent Iowa poll, in which Clinton trailed Barack Obama (30 percent to 26 percent), 39 percent of the sample said that Clinton had the best chance of getting elected president, compared with 25 percent who chose Obama and 22 percent who backed John Edwards. Asked which candidate had the "best experience" to be president, Clinton led with 38 percent, followed by Edwards at 16 percent and Obama at 11 percent. But when voters were asked which candidate "best understands the problems of people like you," the results were reversed; Obama led with 30 percent, while Edwards was second with 25 percent and Clinton took third at 20 percent. Similarly, when asked which candidate is the "most honest and trustworthy," Obama led with 31 percent, followed by Edwards at 20 percent and Clinton at just 15 percent. Jason Marcel, a focus group participant from Des Moines, summed up the Clinton paradox nicely. "I don't know if it's just her speaking style or what it does to certain people, but she's kind of polarizing," he said. "I mean, I admire her work ethic. I think, you know ... she would work very hard." Given the current head ("I think she would do a good job") versus heart ("I just don't like her") split in Iowa, it's not at all surprising that the Clinton campaign seems to be bent on closing the campaign with a message focused on "Hillary the person" rather than "Hillary the politician." It started with two ads that began running in Iowa last week featuring Clinton's mother, Dorothy, and the former first daughter, Chelsea. In the first, footage is shown of the three generations of Clinton women -- taken from a recent campaign stop. The candidate says: "As I travel around I see so many families who share the same values I was brought up with. ...I'm proud to live by those values. But what I am most proud of is knowing who I've passed them onto." The second ad features Dorothy Rodham extolling her daughter's lack of envy and her empathy. "She has empathy for other people's unfortunate circumstances. I've always admired that because it isn't always true of people," Rodham adds. "I think she ought to be elected even if she weren't my daughter." The images in both ads are all soft corners and heart-warming. Nary a word of policy is mentioned in either. Even as those ads were hitting the air, former president Bill Clinton sent out a fundraising e-mail touting his wife as "the best combination of heart and mind, of leadership ability and feel for the problems of other people I've ever known." She can be both head AND heart, according to her husband. That e-mail was followed today with the unveiling of thehillaryiknow.com, which, according to a release from the campaign, "features video testimonials from regular Americans, longtime friends, and well-known leaders whose lives have all been changed by Hillary." Several people whose video testimonials appear on the site were traveling with Clinton Monday in Iowa for a series of what were widely described as emotional events. Even the new ad that Clinton's campaign put up in Iowa Monday morning -- touting the Des Moines Register endorsement -- had a softer side to it. While the words of the endorsement are read by a narrator, Clinton is shown working at a desk in glasses, a look she almost never sports on the campaign trail. ("She has bad eyesight -- just like us!" the ad seems to be declaring.) Because of Clinton's unique position in American politics (universally known and respected but not well liked by most), she is running what amounts to the reverse of a traditional campaign. In a traditional campaign, a candidate spends the first part of the race familiarizing voters with his or her biography -- a tactic designed to get voters to identify with them before the nitty-gritty of the race truly begins. As a vote nears, the candidate (and his/her ad campaign) turns the focus to more detailed policy discussions. Compare that to Clinton's campaign. Due to the fact that most voters already knew her, there was little introduction needed -- despite the campaign's claim that Clinton was the "most famous person no one really knows." The campaign, and Clinton herself, focused on her competency and her experience -- that she alone in the Democratic field was up to the job of being president. Judging from The Post's Iowa focus groups, as well as piles of polling data, it worked. Voters seemed receptive to the idea that Clinton was capable and responsible; it played to the notion of her that many held from her days as first lady. That task accomplished, the campaign is now attempting to tackle the much harder task of convincing voters in these last week's that Clinton is actually someone they could love -- or at least like enough to vote for. Clinton will never be the "heart" candidate in this primary. But judging by tactics employed over the last week, her campaign clearly believes that a pure "head" appeal won't be enough for her to win the nomination. Interestingly, Obama and Edwards have the exact opposite challenge. They have voters' hearts but still face doubts about whether they can win. With just 16 days before Iowa, can Clinton convince enough voters that she, too, is a real person who understands their problems?