Democratic U.S. presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shares a laugh with fellow candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders at the conclusion of the second official 2016 U.S. Democratic presidential candidates debate in Des Moines, Iowa, November 14, 2015. REUTERS/JIM YOUNG
Here's why it could backfire.
Heading into the home stretch of the unexpectedly close Iowa caucus, an anxious Hillary Clinton is increasingly wielding foreign policy and national security as a weapon against Bernie Sanders — an unexpected and high-risk approach that could backfire on the Democratic front-runner.
Early on in her campaign, Clinton kept her distance from a spate of global security crises that have beleaguered the second Obama administration. When polls first began tightening, Clinton and surrogates like her daughter, Chelsea, drilled down on domestic issues, accusing Sanders of being too close to the nation’s gun-makers and questioning his commitment to universal health care. Now, with Clinton leading narrowly in Iowa but Sanders leading by large margins in New Hampshire, she is taking a different tack, hammering him for his alleged naiveté on Iran, Russia, and other hot-button issues. Clinton calls it the “let’s get real” period.
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WNU Editor: I am surprised by this focus on Bernie Sanders from the Clinton camp. Grant you that she does have problems in Iowa and New Hampshire, but her electoral position in the other states is solid, and she has the support of the Democrat establishment. My guess is that her internal polling is telling her that her foreign policy and national security positions are a plus .... and that she should run on this platform. I am personal sceptical that it will work .... but the Iowa caucus is tomorrow .... and we will know by then if this was a smart strategy.