Why this weakness? In part it may reflect the fact that the crisis occurred on Labour’s watch; American liberals should count themselves fortunate that Lehman Brothers didn’t fall a year later, with Democrats holding the White House. More broadly, the whole European centre-left seems stuck in a kind of reflexive cringe, unable to stand up for its own ideas. In this respect Britain seems much closer to Europe than it is to America.
As
Paul Krugman has noted in the case of Labour's inability to address austerity but rather continue to be Tory-Light and even strengthen the SNP in the bargain,
it is time for Hillary to embrace the discourse that is inevitable with the democratic wing of the party. By the time primary season arrives Iowa and New Hampshire may be ready, but can a 50-state campaign sustain what is still a campaign message that needs to embrace more than a 2008 nostalgia.
Strategically, it is only temporarily amusing to watch the GOP implode with Jeb! courting evangelicals and minor nutlog candidates multiplying like rabbits. Her media campaign should do more to separate her presence from Bill with a variety of initiatives - interviews with non-US media, Town Halls in unexpected situations, and a vigorous online strategy.
Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Caravaggio), London