Why Hillary's "Listening Tour" is Smart

By just about any metric we have, President Obama has successfully lead us out of the economic "bottom." Employment is up, the stock market is up, GDP is up, the deficit is down- but his approval is down too. It's a problem of messaging, and an inability to project the success of the country to the electorate.

Enter Hillary Clinton and 2016:

Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign is here, reports Amy Chozick of the New York Times, starting with what amounts to "an unofficial listening tour":

In the coming weeks, Hillary Rodham Clinton will stop delivering paid speeches. She will embark on an unofficial listening tour to gather ideas from the business community, union leaders and others. And she will seek advice from such far-flung advisers as an ad man in Austin, Tex., behind the iconic “Don’t Mess With Texas” campaign and a leading strategist at a Boston-based public affairs consulting firm with ties to the Kennedys.

Now, I know- listening tours are "stupid" and basically just a reason to meet with people who can donate money. Usually, that's true. This time? No. It's an absolute imperative that she do this, and she get a handle on what she's going to sell the public.

The 2016 election is likely to be the most expensive race in American history. It's like to feature lots of shadowy money from outside groups, seeking to tear down the candidates. In that kind of negative environment, candidates have little room for error. For this reason, I'm saying this will be the "marketing election," as the candidate with the most precise, pinpointed message, the one that can stand up to the negativity and "white noise" will be the winner.  In other words, if Hillary is going to be the President, she will have to have a very good argument for why she should be the pick. She has a great raw package of accomplishments, skills, and policy positions, but putting that together right will make the difference. In other words, this listening tour is key.