What was Hillary's biggest mistake in her campaign?

[galaxy21]

Hiring Mark Penn?

Arrogance?

Not planning after Super Tuesday?

Not knowing what to do with Bill?

Or was it just a case of she was up against a once in a lifetime opponent? Let's face it, any other year she'd have walked into the nomination, even if her campaign was a shambles.

[RBInMaine]

1. Running in the first place.

[ShockediSay]

39. Not having the organizational [commander in chief] ability to put together a

well coordinated campaign starting day one.

[Cha]

63. I think after the whole big picture is revealed

that you may be on to something.

[Botany]

2. Starting it.

She had a 47% National Negative Rating.

[Demeter]

It Must Have Been Better Than That!

49% negative, at least!

[marshall]

3. Being a sucker for humiliation?

The writing was on the wall from the beginning.

[BigDaddy44]

4. Thinking she was inevitable

There was no plan B once she didn't wrap it up on super Tuesday.

Also, her management skills are obviously horrendous. Her campaign is a mess.

[Tribetime]

8. Bingo

[babylonsister]

9. Ditto everything you said. And the big dawg hasn't helped. nt

[Patsy Stone]

11. Correct

on all points.

Whatever I expected this season, a horribly run Clinton campaign was not one of them. Stunning.

[rainbow4321]

5. Announcing that she was considering even running??

Ok, ok...what about:

Assuming from the get go that she had the whole thing in the bag...

[Crunchy Frog]

6. Arrogance, hubris,

only going after the bigger states while ignoring the "unimportant" ones, not planning for after Super Tuesday (more of that hubris), acting like she's entitled and that therefore she wouldn't really have to work for it, being willing to get into the gutter; lie, slander, slime. That's about all I can think of, right off the top of my head.

[DJ13]

7. Waiting until 2008 instead of running in 2004 when she would have been...

.....the uncontested front runner.

That boneheaded move cost our country an extra 4 years of Bush.

[AllentownJake]

12. Yeah

Why did she do that I never understood that. She would have man handled Dean and Kerry.

[Cosmocat]

35. If Kerry or Gore would have had her balls ...

they would have beat Bush ...

Seriously ...

As to the origional post ... I don't think she did anything wrong in terms of losing the nomination, I agree she just ran into a once in a generation type of candidate ... I DO think she has done A LOT wrong since the campaign started turning against her, going into hard core running against an R mode, and dragging what had been a reasonably civil race into the mud ...

[totodeinhere]

45. What makes you think that the campaign she would have run then...

would have been any better than the incompetent campaign she has run this year?

[AllentownJake]

10. So many

When this is over there will be books written from insiders in the campaign you won't believe. The blame that the advisers will try to spread around will be massive and they are going to sell her out. Don't count on 2012 even if Obama loses. They are going to evicerate her.

Running as an incumbent in a time when people wanted change from the status quo.

Ignoring the internet as a fundraising tool

Creating an atmosphere of fear so that people were afraid to tell her she was going broke before she went broke.

The list could go on for on.

[galaxy21]

14. How could Bill's campaigns be so succesful and hers not be?

don't they use the same people?

[AllentownJake]

26. Things Change

They've run her campaign like Bill's 1996 re-election campaign. There are alot of problems with that.

First being she isn't the incumbent President...but I digress on that point.

They did good on the fundraising by tapping out the big party donors but after January...campain finance rules kicked in and they couldn't hit them anymore. They had to use the internet. If they had been using it all along they would have killed us.

They've relied heavily on Unions and Emily's list to get the vote out. It's worked in a minority of the states but not all.

They cherry picked states to fight in instead of fighting in all of them allowing Obama to rack up huge deficits.

They dismissed caucuses.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

27. 1) She's a woman, right wingnuts crucified her from day 1 and have never stopped

because rightwingnuts have a deep-seated fear and hatred of females.

2) Thinking that simply having a high I.Q., and being the wife of President Clinton, would win her the nomination without having to be very cautious about everything she said. The media in this country is comprised of assholes who nitpick through bullshit to crucify any candidate and turn anything into gossip rag materials.

3) Not spending time reaching out to the homeless, poor, sick, elderly, dark-skinned, and all those who generally vote in small numbers, or do not vote at all. Her advisers may have feared that might have put her in the role of a gentle and helpless Mother Teresa, but I think it would've convinced those of us who were for Edwards, that she was the one. I'd have been solidly behind her!

4) Refusing to come out against the war and say it was a mistake that had to be stopped ASAP.

5) Refusing to select a strong, ballsy man as her foreign affairs rep, and have him appear for her where she could not be present.

6) Refusing to speak out against the GOP. Obama has not and tho that has attracted the young, it has alienated other Dems who simply want to hurt the GOP for nearly destroying our people and country. She could've capitalized on that and been the "true Democrat" attacking GOPers every chance she got. It would've put her in the news more than the mild-mannered Obama.

There's more but I'm tired of typing.

[AllentownJake]

30. #1

I had two card carrying members of the GOP telling me what they thought of having an N word President the other day when they saw my button. Its a draw there.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

66. What about a W word president? nt

[Condem]

15. biggest mistake?

Iowa.

[davidpdx]

57. I agree with you about the books that will be written

Frankly I'll be ordering them because they will be interesting to read and get a sense of what went on behind the scenes

[pdxmom]

13. Underestimating Obama and the voters. N/T

[hedgehog]

16. Staying in this long and tearing down the presumed nominee

after he won the popular vote and delgate count. She could have conceded gracefully, but at this point any Democrat who loses in the fall will blame her!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

17. Definitely running. I'm not being silly. She's greatly disliked by the right wing

Fair or not, that's just the way it is.

[uponit7771]

18. Arrogance then low character

[stop the bleeding]

19. budgeting and long term planning or lack there of

:beer:

[VolcanoJen]

20. Not having a post-Super Tuesday plan, by far.

Of course, that ties into hiring Mark Penn, arrogance, and hubris. She's been playing negative-nasty catch-up ever since.

But not having a February 6th plan was such a colossal fuck-up, that it practically disqualifies her from the office she seeks. I mean, didn't she enter Condi Rice "nobody could have predicted" territory by underestimating her opponent and his strategists?

[Patsy Stone]

21. I have to add: bad press relationships

The Clintons were never friendly to them to begin with, and maybe after Monica their distaste for the press was well-deserved. But if the press doesn't like you, and you're also inaccessible and appear to not need them, you're done.

Also, I'm not sure I've ever heard Hillary herself do any interviews on progressive radio.

[C_U_L8R]

22. Not having a core message

and in that void, going obscenely negative. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
Clearly an unsustainable strategy and never a winning move.
Hillary has been outflanked and outsmarted at every turn.
Penn the PR guy was flakking and fragging while Obama built a brand.
What a classic failure.

[Kaylee]

55. Definitely. I still don't know why she wants to be President.

[C_U_L8R]

56. She's a candidate in search of a mission statement

oh i could've had a v8 (thwack)

[karynnj]

23. Arrogance

which led to keeping Mark Penn, thinking she didn't have to prove herself, thinking that no matter what he did people would find Bill charming and thinking that she was so much smarter she could lie and make things up with impunity.

I don't think she would have walked away with the nomination without Obama. I think that if Obama was not there either Gore or Kerry could have come in and beat her on experience and judgment. Gore was, like Obama against the war from the beginning and Kerry was, more than any other person leading in defining the exit plan - and in comparison to HRC had consistently spoken against the war. Both Gore and Kerry have real credentials that HRC does not on climate change. Gore led the reinvent government plan. Kerry sits on the Finance committee which is why he had answers ready when questions came up on tax plans and social security. Both would have worked extremely hard trying to keep straight faces as HRC spoke of ducking to avoid sniper fire - My guess - Gore might succeed - Kerry would laugh. Oh, HRC would think twice before saying she initiated S-CHIP with either on the stage. Both would win likability versus HRC.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

24. A potentially subconcious notion of entitlement. One must be

careful cuz the foot you shoot may be your own.

[Tresalisa]

25. If it does turn out that she's not our nominee,

and it's looking more and more likely, I'd say you've covered everything in your OP, but the biggest mistake has to be the people she chose to run her campaign.

Official disclaimer: I am an enthusiastic supporter of both of our candidates.

[AllentownJake]

29. If she stayed the person

She was in the last week of New Hampshire...which everyone says was who she really is...she wouldn't be as far behind as she is.

She'd still be behind...but not the way she is now.

[tinrobot]

28. Not sending Bill to Antarctica

Half the damage to her campaign was his doing.

[JimGinPA]

31. Claiming She & McSame Had CIC Experience & Obama Had A Speech

She went low and then kept going lower.

[NashVegas]

32. Under-Estimating Her Opponent and the Press's Hatred

First, underestimating his Iowa crew.

Secondly, underestimating how low he'd go and how cleverly he'd do so in such a way that it was always his surrogates that went negative, not Obama himself.

As for the press, it's my new sig. Says it all.

[crankychatter]

33. Running as a Democrat against one

yup

[StevieM]

34. Not recognizing how low Obama would stoop to win. She assumed that the race would be decided on

the issues. But Obama would have none of that--he knew he could never win that way.

Steve

[AllentownJake]

37. Yes

Because this mythical commander in chief test and Pastor Wright are the issues that are keeping Americans from getting Health Insurance.

Calling your oponent Kenneth Starr for daring to ask where you make your money from just so the American people can be sure they aren't voting for a corporate shill in democrat clothing you mean those types of issues.

[Condem]

38. What is it?

Steve or Stevie?

[StevieM]

46. My name is Steve, so that's I sign my posts. I've chosen the screen name Stevie M. (eom)

[wileedog]

40. If what you say is true

then she was doomed in the GE.

Or do you think the Repub attack machine wouldn't stoop as low?

So either you are full of shit or she was a weak candidate. Take your pick.

[tammywammy]

36. Penn

[DB1]

49. She should have canned him after Iowa.

[tammywammy]

53. Or at least after SC

[Danger Mouse]

41. She made two HUGE mistakes.

1.) Hiring Mark Penn.

2.) Not being prepared for the race going on after Super Tuesday.

[totodeinhere]

42. Her biggest mistake was running a campaign based upon...

the past rather than the future. She tried to emphasize her experience garnered from the years she spent as first lady, and that just didn't come off as credible.

On the other hand, Obama and his message of change and bringing all of the people together for a common cause struck a real cord.

[SoCalDem]

43. Thinking it was a "slam dunk"

and believing that everyone would embrace her and give it all to her by Feb 5.

[Aussie leftie]

44. Underestimating the media's love affair with Barack Obama

[AllentownJake]

48. If he lost Iowa

There would have been no love affair.

[MadBadger]

47. Driver's License for Illegal Immigrants.

She would be the nominee already if not for that mistake.

[Samantha]

50. Failure to differentiate herself from Bush* and leaving her liberal

base behind. It was a politically fatal decision, and what makes it worse, it was a deliberate one.

Sam

[ej510]

51. She just went on Fox tonight!

She's on Faux News with Greta touting how the pledged delegates can change and vote for whomever they want. I've had enough.

[DrFunkenstein]

52. Sending 4,000 Soldiers to Their Death For The Sake of Poltical Theater

It gave Obama the slightest of openings, and he just happened to be a once in a lifetime candidate.

[book_worm]

54. Strategically it was the decision not to compete in the small states

you know the ones that "didn't count" because they ended up counting big time.

[davidpdx]

58. What's telling about the responses from Clinton supporters

is that they are all snark. None of them is willing to point out the mistakes in her campaign.

I think many of the posters above have hit the major points, but here is my list:

1) Running a campaign like you are the incumbent

2) Letting Bill say pretty much whatever he wants, instead of keeping him on message (isn't that what campaigns are really about?)

3) Not quickly and decisively quilling problems in terms of surrogates making off-hand comments about Obama (including Bill)

4) Choosing someone who wasn't fit to run a national campaign in the first place, ensuring better control over her campaign

5) Competing in Iowa, not challenging Obama in caucus states and red states

6) Not planning out the use of funds in a more responsible way

7) Underestimating an insurgent campaign using the internet for fundraisers and for not using the internet as a resource

8) Hiring Mark Penn and Harold Wolfowitz

9) Having no post Feb 5th game plan and relying on Ohio and Texas

10) Allowing her campaign to take on a nasty divisive tone

[suston96]

59. Hillary's biggest mistake? Not being a black woman.....nt

[KansasVoter]

60. Assuming she would win with NO PLAN. No staff in most states and no offices in most states. Arrogant

[NickMorgan]

61. the whole being a sociopath thing nt

[skater314159]

62. Hubris. nt

[stevenleser]

64. In order...

1. Arrogance

2. Not having a 50 state strategy/planning for after Super Tuesday

3. Forgetting that Bill ran on Change and a new direction and not running that way herself

------------------------------------

The combination of these three were fatal.

[Barack_America]

65. Not questioning the advice she was given.

By her so-called "A-team" of advisors.

[AlinPA]

67. Insulting Democrats who are Obama's supporters.

[Life Long Dem]

68. Honesty

First she found every way to not answer questions. From using plants to laughing the question off to a number of tactics similar to this.

Next she started the mud slinging when she told Obama after a debate that he started the mud slinging. Yet it was actually Edwards. Another indication she was using a script. And it just continued.

And there is this lack of sincerity I see in her. She looked sincere in Bosnia with the little girl.

[Warren Stupidity]

69. Her assumption of inevitableness.

[BeyondGeography]

70. The original decision to run is proving disastrous