“There’s a good chance she can continue to get a lot of good coverage between now and the time the general election starts; and then you’ll get what is sometimes, in my view, artificially evenhanded coverage that hurts one candidate and benefits another,” said Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, who has more than four decades of high-level experience on presidential campaigns. “There’s a natural tendency of the press to even this thing out. On the other hand, I think what’s being written now reflects her real strength in the Democratic Party and in the country.”…
“The coverage has been overwhelmingly positive, and there’s two reasons for that,” said John Geer, co-director of The Vanderbilt Poll and an expert on the intersection of presidential politics and media. “One: There’s lots of good things to say about her, especially her term as secretary of state. And the second is that she hasn’t announced. If she does announce, the coverage will start to turn more critical because she’s now a potential president — and she knows that better than anybody.”
One clear advantage that comes with Clinton’s current position outside of government is that she has full control over when and where to weigh in on the issues of the day. With no controversial votes to cast and no compulsion to be at the forefront of contentious political fights, she is less subject to the unscripted mishaps that tend to befall public officials.
Even partisan Republicans have little incentive to criticize her — though Clinton’s GOP opponents don’t intend to let the honeymoon continue much longer.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member