Subject: Fwd: From The Washington Post: The Fix: How Hillary Clinton can correct the biggest mistake she made in 2008
From: Cheryl Mills <[email-masked]>
To: John Podesta <[email-masked]>, Robby Mook <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 10:04:19 -0400

fysa

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Geoff Garin <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 9:50 AM
Subject: RE: From The Washington Post: The Fix: How Hillary Clinton can
correct the biggest mistake she made in 2008
To: Cheryl Mills <[email-masked]>
Cc: Stephanie Schrock <[email-masked]>

Yes.

*From:* Cheryl Mills [mailto:[email-masked]]
*Sent:* Sunday, March 23, 2014 4:24 AM
*To:* Geoff Garin
*Cc:* Stephanie Schrock
*Subject:* Re: From The Washington Post: The Fix: How Hillary Clinton can
correct the biggest mistake she made in 2008

Geoff

Yes - my point was they missed the nuance so were pushing not a
quality-plus narrative but just a history narrative and I think all
Americans, especially women, believe in quality-plus (or added bonus of)
history.

So agree with you and interesting how that is being missed, which I think
stems b/c folks chose history making narrative last time but really they
choose change-plus history making.

Best.

cdm

On Mar 22, 2014, at 10:47 PM, Geoff Garin <[email-masked]> wrote:

Hi Cheryl,

There's no question that a Clinton campaign in 2016 should speak to the
benefits that many voters (particularly women) think would come from
electing the first woman president -- particularly when that person is one
of the most eloquent and effective advocates for the full participation of
women and girls at home and around the world.   There is a fine line to be
recognized, here though: many voters (including women) are uncomfortable
about being asked to vote for someone because she is a woman, even if the
woman is Hillary Clinton.   Women who will be the swing voters in the
general election (i.e., not HRC's core supporters) want to feel they are
voting for the best candidate, not the best woman candidate.

Just as a reminder, here is how we summarized these findings in our report:

*Electing a woman president is a very strong motivating factor among
Hillary Clinton's most committed supporters, and younger voters demonstrate
an above-average interest in electing a woman to the White House.  For
these groups, making history and breaking the "highest glass ceiling" will
be a valuable organizing principle.  However, electing a woman as president
is less important to more marginal Clinton supporters, and we have seen
clearly in the focus groups that swing voters (including swing women
voters) resent being asked to support someone just because she is a woman.
In this survey, an argument for Hillary Clinton framed around the idea of
breaking the glass ceiling is the least effective positive case we tested.
At the end of the day, swing voters are looking to elect the person who is
best able to lead the country forward and make their own lives better.
Breaking the glass ceiling would be a positive consequence of electing a
woman, but for most voters it is not a compelling reason in itself to elect
a woman.*

By the way, the Gallup question asks people to volunteer what the best
thing would be about a Hillary Clinton presidency, which is a little
different from asking why they would vote for her.  And if Gallup asks in
12 or 24 months from now what the best thing about a Clinton presidency
would be, I'd love it if more people volunteer she will improve the
economy, help average Americans get a better shake, or be a strong leader.

What caught my attention in the Gallup numbers that people seem less
opinionated about HRC now than when they asked this in 2007 - there was a
significant rise the % who couldn't (or wouldn't) say anything about her
either on the positive side or on the negative side.  This might just be
the product of Gallup's screwy polling, or an indication that there is some
"out of sight/out of mind" element here.

We have our next round of research underway, and will continue trying to
get a good handle on these questions.

Best,

Geoff

-----Original Message-----
From: Cheryl Mills [mailto:[email-masked] <[email-masked]>]
Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2014 8:29 PM
To: Geoff Garin; Stephanie Schrock
Subject: From The Washington Post: The Fix: How Hillary Clinton can correct
the biggest mistake she made in 2008

Interesting how hard this is being pushed.

Cdm

A friend shared this article with you from The Washington Post:

Embrace being a woman running for president..

http://wapo.st/1dbwtNo

cdm