Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
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- Some former Hillary Clinton aides are concerned tying her to Barack Obama will be effective
- "That is the way to go after her is four more years of the same old thing," said one friend
- Others say "It is a valid question," but that Republicans have bigger problems than Clinton
- The last time a party controlled the White House for more than eight years was 1989-93
Washington (CNN) -- Very few confidants and former aides were frenzied when Hillary Clinton came under fire for questions about her age, health and wealth.
Their view, for the most part, was Clinton is obviously healthy - look at the schedule she keeps - and wealth won't be a problem because they can be countered by her proposed policies and actions to help the middle class and poor.
"They (Republicans) are just throwing stuff against the wall to see what will stick," said a Clinton friend and former aide. "This will not stick. This is not the way to attack her."
However, some Clinton associates -- all of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly -- have quietly expressed concern that one of the most effective critiques could be that her presidency, should she run and be elected, would be nothing more than President Barack Obama's third term.
The Clinton friend and former aide told CNN last week that the best way to go after Clinton is to use this against her: "If you like Obama, you will love Hillary."
"She was in his government, she was at his side," said the source. "That is, the way to go after her is four more years of the same old thing. The question they should ask her is 'Tell me 10 things that you disagree with him on.'"
Others in Clinton's current and former orbitsee the "third-term Obama" question as a possible issue. But they were quick to note that Republicans have more pressing problems.
"It is a valid question," said a longtime Clinton aide. "But the other side of the aisle has got plenty of their own problems. They may have a deep bench, but they certainly have no starter."
Another longtime Democrat who worked for former Vice President Al Gore in 2000 said Republicans will no doubt try to tack any Democratic nominee to Obama, if they see it could work for them.
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Gore, Bill Clinton's No. 2 for eight years, struggled to overcome "Clinton fatigue" in his 2000 presidential campaign that fell just short.
Republicans are, in fact, already trying to bind Clinton to Obama.
Most recently, Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2012, said Clinton "will be very formidable" but "beatable."
"I think she is beatable because the record is not very good," Ryan said in an interview with USA Today. "I don't think people are going to want to have an Obama third term and no matter how she tries to shake that label, she won't be able to."
While those questions aren't getting as much attention as those aimed at Clinton's wealth and speaking fees, Ryan is not the first Republican to already go after her this way.
In June, shortly after Clinton's memoir "Hard Choices" hit bookshelves, the Republican National Committee released a video casting the Obama presidency as a "team effort" that included Clinton as America's top diplomat for four years.
The Web ad flashes a simple message: