“I know the playbook says you’ve got to run away,” Todd said. “But they’re already going to own the negative.”

“This was always something that Republicans didn’t understand,” Todd continued, “and what the Obama campaign back in 2012 would say is: ‘Hey, you don’t understand, particularly with Hispanic voters, health care was really popular.’ Particularly with voters who are struggling with everyday pocketbook issues, the idea that the President of the United States went out on a limb and essentially tried to balance out something that has been a problem for a lot of Americans?”

“I think the Democrats got to be careful. If they start running for the hills too much—tell me where that playbook has ever worked? Democrats in ’94 ran away from Bill Clinton. That worked—for the Republicans. Republicans running away from Bush in ’06, that really worked for them.”