The Democratic Party operative who created and ran President Obama's two successful campaigns for the Oval office has a warning for Hillary Clinton - stop avoiding the press:
"She has to start getting into the rhythm of a campaign where she's out there, she's answering questions, she making speeches. It would be a terrible mistake to not do that."
Axelrod was part of the panel on Sunday's "Meet The Press" when host Chuck Todd pointed out that, since she has announced her candidacy, Hillary Clinton has taken fewer questions from the press then her husband, the former president:
"I'm starting with a retort that's become familiar with Republicans, David Axelrod, which is: when is Hillary Clinton going to answer questions from the media? We did our own little math. And what's been amazing, since Hillary Clinton became a official candidate for president, there has been a Clinton that has taken quite a few media questions on camera. Bill Clinton has taken 39 questions on camera, that includes Letterman, Cynthia McFadden, our colleague, also, a CNN interview. Hillary Clinton has done nine"
Axelrod explained that part of the reason Bill Clinton has answered so many questions from the media is that he has become the point person for fighting against the Clinton Foundation charges. But, Axelrod points out that it does not excuse Hillary Clinton's silence:
But look, I think she has to get out there, she has to answer questions. She has to do it routinely so it's not a major news event when she takes a few questions from the news media. (...) She has to do it quickly and she has to start getting into the rhythm of a campaign where she's out there, she's answering questions, she making speeches. It would be a terrible mistake to not do that.
Panelists Tom Friedman and Helene Cooper, both liberals with the NY Times, both agreed that Clinton's silence is damaging. Friedman pointed to what he felt was Hillary's lack of vision, while Cooper added:
I don't think I have as good a sense as I could have. And I'm really perplexed, because she's been through this before. And the weird thing for me is that I see her making a lot of the same mistakes as she did in 2008. And I find that a little perplexing.
We've seen a lot of, you know, Hillary Clinton on the defensive. We haven't seen her on the front foot going forward. And I'm very perplexed as to why we have not seen that. I do agree that she should be coming out a whole lot more, and particular so that it's not as big a new event.
Not only are the Republicans making Ms. Clinton's lack of interaction with the press a campaign issue, but liberals like the ones on Sunday's Meet The Press panels are are beginning to criticize her out loud.
Even the liberal Washington Post has made it an issue by publishing a clock on its website counting the minutes since Hillary Clinton last answered a question from the press. At the time this post was written, the clock read:
The video below contains the entire Meet the Press segment discussed above.