Hacked: Top Dem criticized Clinton’s inability to communicate ‘remorse’ for server

Hillary Clinton’s inability to “communicate genuine feelings of remorse” was a key impediment to overcoming the scandal surrounding her private email server, according to a top Democrat who worked on Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign and her first bid for the presidency.

The statement was made by Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden in an Aug. 22, 2015, email to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, who left the liberal think tank he founded to work on the campaign, according to illegally obtained emails published by WikiLeaks.

“I know this email thing isn’t on the level. I’m fully aware of that,” Tanden said in the message. “But her inability to just do a national interview and communicate genuine feelings of remorse and regret is now, I fear, becoming a character problem (more so than honesty).

“People hate her arrogant, like her down. It’s a sexist context, but I think it’s the truth,” Tanden wrote. “I see no downside in her actually just saying, look, I’m sorry. I think it will take so much air out of this. She always sees herself bending to ‘their’ will when she hands over information, etc. But the way she has to bend here is in the remorse. Not the ‘if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t do it.’ A real feeling of, this decision I made created a mess and I’m sorry I did that.

“No one thinks she doesn’t have the judgment to be president, she’s not reaffirming a negative characteristic in saying sorry,” Tanden added. She needs to do that. I see no way of moving on until October otherwise. Anyway, that’s my advice.”

Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2603758

It became publicly known Clinton had used a private server for processing classified information in March 2015, five months before Tanden sent the message. Clinton said she was “sorry for that” on Sept. 9. It was not until July 5 of this year that FBI Director James Comey said he would not pursue criminal charges, bringing the ordeal to a conclusion at least nine months later than Tanden had predicted.

Tanden, who now heads the Center for American Progress, began with Clinton as deputy campaign manager during her 2000 bid for the Senate in New York. She worked as policy director for Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign, and then as policy director for President Obama in his 2012 campaign. She is serving this year as one of five co-chairs on Clinton’s transition team, aimed at helping to usher Clinton into the White House in the event of her election.

The exchange was included in one of 1,193 emails from Podesta’s inbox published by WikiLeaks. The website has published 7,199 messages from the Clinton campaign chief since Friday.