Hillary's secret weapon? GOP praise (VIDEO)

The Hill ^ | 27 May 2014 | Bob Cusack

[PoloSec]

Republican praise of the Clinton era over the last several years could reverberate in the 2016 presidential race, giving the Democratic front-runner a core talking point.

One of Hillary Clinton's biggest challenges in her likely White House bid is convincing voters that she could make Washington work. Critics have long called Clinton a polarizing figure, citing her effort to revamp the nation's healthcare system in the 1990s and more recently, her congressional testimony on the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya.

But Clinton could counter those salvoes by citing Republican compliments of her and a slew of GOP statements on how former President Clinton worked with the other side of the aisle to pass sweeping legislation.

Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), the 2012 GOP vice presidential candidate, last year said if Clinton had become president in 2009, “we’d have fixed this fiscal mess by now.” The Budget Committee chairman was drawing a comparison between Clinton and President Obama, who has struggled to strike deals with Republicans.

Should she become commander in chief, Clinton would not lead the nation exactly how her husband did. But she would likely adopt a similar leadership style, and Bill Clinton would be right at her side.

On many occasions, Republicans have touted Bill Clinton's administration as a way to bash Obama. They maintain the 42nd president negotiated in good faith, and Obama doesn't.

[Dr. Sivana]

If a Dem wants to run to the perceived left of HRC, the videos could be used against her in the primaries. For instance, here in Wisconsin, a Dem primary voter would NOT Be impressed with a Paul Ryan endorsement. They would prefer Tammy Baldwin, Russ Feingold or Gwen Moore.

[MNDude]

At least, I’m sure there’s no praise from John McCain.

[Zuse]

If it is a Hllary/Huma ticket, you can be sure that John McCain would tell everybody that Huma would make a fine vice-president.