Clinton Redefines What Experience Is

A good assessment of how a candidate successfully takes a message and makes a mark on voters is when you begin to read and hear the person repeat it over and over in calls, e-mails and on radio talk shows.

After getting blown away by Sen. Barack Obama in Iowa, Sen. Hillary Clinton knew that she needed to change her position to combat the agent-of-change language presented by Obama. It was clear that just talking about her experience as first lady wasn't enough because taking credit for all the good done by the administration of President Bill Clinton also meant assuming the bad.

But what Hillary Clinton has done is reframe her experience by expanding it beyond the seven years she's served in the U.S. Senate. Now you hear her talk about having 35 years of experience as a change agent.

The key part really isn't being an advocate for change, but the emphasis on 35 years.

And it has caught on because I've noticed the phrase taking foot among the electorate, and now they are repeating it.

Judging by her résumé, the 60-year-old Clinton has decided to reach back and suggest that all the work she has done since graduating from college matters. The compare and contrast is that with Obama being 46, Clinton is suggesting that she has been working on issues since her chief rival was still in junior high school.

Ouch.

During the debate before the New Hampshire primary, Clinton forcefully made the point, seeking to establish her credentials over a long period of time.

That was evident during the final stages of the campaign in the Granite State, where she chose to go toward a policy-oriented stump speech, rather than hit all the usual talking points.

And now, with the economy roaring to the top of the agenda as to what concerns America the most, this is going to become even more critical.

The biggest knock on Obama's campaign has been Clinton defining him as being inexperienced, even though it is true that he's served longer as an elected official (11 years) than Clinton (seven).

The Obama campaign has failed to respond adequately to this change in Clinton's tactics.

If his team continues to let experience become a strong anthem, they will pay for it because, for the most part, the rest of the states will require getting traditional Democratic voters out to the polls. New Hampshire was big on low- to middle-income and blue-collar voters, and they find Clinton appealing, while upper-income voters prefer Obama.

Now that South Carolina is coming up on Jan. 26, along with states such as Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee and others, pocketbook issues will be vital, and not the war. That goes up Clinton's alley.

One way for the Obama campaign to connect with these critical voters is to stop having Obama just say he worked as a community organizer. What does that really mean?

He has to paint the picture of going into the public housing complexes of Chicago, helping people get needed services. He must say that he drove a beat-up car to the West Side and South Side to sign people up to vote. He must say that his experience in the streets — laid out as explicitly as possible — is the kind of experience that he will reflect on and use when sitting in the Oval Office. He should explain how his mom had to go on food stamps to feed the family. He should tell the audience that he and Michelle paid off their student loans just three years ago.

Voters are worried about rising tuition costs and the ability to maintain a decent standard of living. They want someone who will speak from the heart, make it clear that he hears them and offer solutions to their problems when he gets to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

As of now, Clinton is winning the experience battle by changing the definition, and that could be the turning point as the election moves forward.

Roland S. Martin is an award-winning CNN contributor and the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith." Please visit his Web site at www.rolandsmartin.com. To find out more about Roland S. Martin and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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