As Hillary Clinton prepares to pursue the White House, she must decide how to handle questions about another president: Barack Obama.
On the one hand, Clinton could decide to tie herself closely to Obama and his legacy.
She could also seek to distinguish herself from the incumbent, on the theory that voters always look for something different when they change presidents — one of the reasons they went from George W. Bush to Obama in 2008.
Bill Burton, a former aide to Obama in the 2008 campaign and at the White House, said Americans will expect Clinton to show contrasts with her former rival and boss.
"She's got to be careful not to alienate the activist community and core Obama supporters, but no one will be surprised to hear her disagree," Burton said. "I think that's going to be a natural part of the campaign. I don't think it will be too distracting."
The former secretary of State has drawn distinctions in her area of expertise: foreign policy. Clinton signaled some differences in her book Hard Choices, including debates with Obama and his team over the civil war in Syria and unrest in Egypt.
On Syria, Clinton wrote that she and other officials supported arming the rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad's government.
There were risks to acting or not acting, Clinton wrote, but "the President's inclination was to stay the present course and not take the significant further step of arming rebels."
She added "No one likes to lose a debate, including me. But this was the President's call and I respected his deliberations and decision."
On Egypt, their positions were somewhat reversed.
Clinton and other aides urged caution in calling for the removal of then-president Hosni Mubarak, amid demands for his ouster and more democracy by vocal demonstrators in Cairo.
"It was a thrilling moment," Clinton wrote. "But along with Vice President Biden, Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, I was concerned that we not be seen as pushing a longtime partner out the door, leaving Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the region to an uncertain, dangerous future."
Obama eventually made clear he backed Mubarak's removal from power.
It's hard to see how — or if — Clinton might distinguish herself on domestic issues, as she has publicly embraced many of his initiatives. But other potential Democratic candidates have taken shots at Obama's economic record, and Clinton may be tempted to follow suit
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