Hillary Clinton considers delaying start of campaign as Romney goes on attack
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Version 0 of 1. The Republican gloves are off, now that the 2016 US presidential election is less than 650 days away. Hillary Clinton’s move? Sit back and enjoy the fight, apparently. Mitt Romney came out swinging on Wednesday night in Mississippi, talking directly about Clinton in his most overtly presidential-sounding and combative remarks since he last campaigned for the White House, questioning the former secretary of state’s foreign policy record and her economic agenda. Romney has amped up his public profile in recent weeks as he explores a possible third run for president – hinting at an inclusive economic message at Republican party events and returning to the BBQ-and-stump-speech circuit in Mississippi this week, including his first Instagram photo since election day 2012. Now the former Massachusetts governor is wasting no time calling out Clinton, who has made no such overt moves, for lacking the acumen needed to help the country fully turn the corner on the recession. “How can Secretary Clinton provide opportunity for all if she doesn’t know where jobs come from in the first place?” Romney asked the hundreds of students gathered at Mississippi State University. “The great days of America have not ended; they’re ahead with the right kind of leadership.” “I’m thinking about how I can help the country,” Romney added. Romney also took several digs at Clinton’s foreign policy record, characterizing her time with the Obama administration as “timid”. He called Clinton “clueless” in her dealings with Russia, and said: “The Middle East and much of north Africa is in chaos.” For her part, Clinton is apparently in no rush at all, according to a report in Politico on Thursday. Citing interviews with anonymous “advisers”, Politico reported that Clinton is “strongly considering delaying” the perceived formality of beginning her presidential campaign until July – which is still 16 months before the election. “She doesn’t feel under any pressure, and they see no primary challenge on the horizon. If you have the luxury of time, you take it,” a Democrat familiar with Clinton’s thinking apparently told Politico’s Mike Allen. In recent weeks, chatter over the Republican nominee has begun – even sooner than the last election cycle – to crowd out wide speculation of a Clinton run. Earlier this month, in a meeting that had reportedly been long planned but fueled more Washington gossip anyway, Romney huddled privately in Utah with another prominent Republican vying for a presidential bid, Jeb Bush. The reported “delay” would give Clinton time to hone a strategy, while Republican candidates duke it out under the spotlight of Beltway insiderism. “You’ve gotta win,” Mississippi State’s football coach, Dan Mullen, told Romney onstage at the school on Wednesday. “You’ve gotta win.” |