The Democrats' likeliest 2016 presidential nominee, former secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has gone quiet of late after the media blitz for her memoir "because she doesn't have a message" and doesn't have a political "guru" to provide her one, says ex-Clinton White House adviser Dick Morris.
"Hillary always follows gurus," political strategist, commentator and author Morris told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner on
Newsmax TV Friday. "She always wants one guy to tell her what to eat for breakfast."
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"And I know, because for years I was that [guru]," said Morris, a Republican operative hired to help President Bill Clinton reach beyond his Democratic base.
Morris said that others have played the guru role for Hillary Clinton: strategist Mark Penn, healthcare consultant Ira Magaziner, national security adviser Sandy Berger.
The only guru rule was, "never more than one at a time," said Morris. "And she doesn't have it now."
"She suddenly is surrounded by everybody in the world [telling her] that she's the consensus Democratic nominee," he said. "She has to sift through it and figure out her message, and she's not good at that. She's very good when she has her message and is giving it, but not good at deriving it."
While messaging is a problem, money won't be if she runs, said Morris.
"When she announces, she'll be deluged with money and in any case, she has all those thinly veiled bribes to the Clinton Foundation — that she can spend on travel as she wishes — from foreign governments," he said.
With scrutiny intensifying on the
family-run foundation's income, Morris likened its decision to accept foreign money —a reversal of earlier policy — to an 18th century diplomatic scandal: France's foreign minister, Talleyrand, demanding a $1 million bribe from American envoys before he would agree to negotiate an end to mutual hostilities.
"How is that different from Hillary as secretary of state demanding that Saudi Arabia, the UAE as well as other actual allies ante up for the Clinton Foundation to get special privileges with the State Department?" said Morris.
Morris also discussed his new column asserting that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's real opponent — if he seeks and wins the 2016 Republican presidential nomination — is his brother, former President George W. Bush.
"We forget how unpopular George W. Bush was during his last months as president," said Morris, reeling off the last Republican White House occupant's dismal poll numbers and the domestic and foreign crises laid at Bush's feet.
"When you put that together, Jeb has got to explain how his policies will differ from those of his brother," said Morris. "Otherwise, he'll have to eat those policies for breakfast."
Jeb Bush doesn't have to call out his brother by name, said Morris.
"He can get up there and say, 'The policies of the United States in the last 20 years, whether under the Democrats or the Republicans, led to this lack of regulation, this bubble economics, these artificially low interest rates that triggered this. And under my presidency, that won't happen,'" he said.
"He also needs to be very explicit about his brother's errors in Iraq," he said. "Staying the course for that long period and racking up those casualties — now, obviously, to very little effect."
Morris said that another would-be candidate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, has been effectively displaced by rival GOP hopefuls.
"Chris Christie is someone whose space has been taken," said Morris. "[Jeb] Bush takes it up for the moderates who want a candidate who they think can win. [Wisconsin Gov. Scott] Walker takes it over from those who want a good governor, executive experience and aggressive action against the left and the unions.
"Between the two, he's sort of the second best establishment figure, the second best governor," Morris said of Christie,"and second best doesn't get a lot of votes."
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