Robert Gibbs Warns Hillary: Separate 2016 Campaign From Obama, Bill

On NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday morning, former Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs warned Hillary Clinton away from letting her 2016 presidential campaign be seen as an extension either the Bill Clinton or Barack Obama administrations.

“She also has to distinguish herself from her husband,” Gibbs said. “If her campaign becomes an extension of either her husband’s term, or current president’s term, it’s not necessarily a good deal for her.”

Gibbs wondered at how quickly Clinton had reentered the political arena.

“She could build the campaign, she could develop a message, without having to be so far out in front there,” Gibbs continued. “Chuck [Todd] talks about strong bipartisan approval ratings. Those will whittle quite quickly as she steps further and further into the political world.”

“And then we’ll get cheap political stories that show up in certain news sites that say, ‘Oh look, Hillary Clinton’s ratings are falling!'” Todd added. “And it’s simply because Republicans and independents who are Republican-leaning will go away.”

Both men counseled Clinton to enter the primary later, as her husband did in 1991, to avoid some of the leak in approval ratings that will inevitably result from primary battles.

Watch the full segment here, via NBC News:

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