Clinton’s relationship with Obama presents a delicate challenge for the former secretary of state as she rolls out her book this week and potentially a presidential campaign months from now. She does not want to appear disloyal to her former boss but could use some separation given his anemic poll numbers. She’d have to have Obama supporters enthusiastically on board a presidential campaign, while fending off Republican attempts to depict her as representing a third Obama term…

“Her record is our record,” former National Security Council and Obama adviser Tommy Vietor, who has joined Clinton’s team to handle response to her book, told Democrats at a recent briefing in Washington…

To that end, describing her often hawkish approach to foreign policy at State is less about Clinton positioning herself as strong – polls show voters believe she is – than it is about not getting dragged down by a president who, according to public opinion surveys, is increasingly seen as ineffective.

“Obama’s taken a lot of hits on foreign policy. He’s not seen as a [strong] leader,” said Ian Bremmer, a foreign policy expert and president of the nonpartisan Eurasia Institute.