How to Go After Hillary

6. "Raise money, duh!" That's Tasini, who believed his positions were more popular than Hillary Clinton's among Democrats—but since he raised only $250,000, no one knew it. Or who he was, for that matter. When he was out on the street asking people to sign his petition, he talked about her history. "People were shocked to hear she sat on the board of Wal-Mart for years. People were shocked to hear she'd voted for the war. A lot of union members still don't know that she has supported free trade." The money will allow a candidate to tie her to her positions, he says.

7. She voted for it before she was against it. Long suggests reminding voters that she has been on "all four sides" of the Iraq War issue. "There's plenty of clips that can be used in a good TV commercial that will quickly display her different positions. Early on [for example] she was trying to outdo George Bush," he says. Tasini agrees and thinks Barack Obama, particularly, should do more to exploit her Iraq vote. "When she says, 'We can all agree this is George Bush's war,' it's so false!" says Tasini. "You don't have to be abusive, but you can say, 'With all due respect, senator, you voted for the war, you supported the war. And voters need to take that into account for how you'll make decisions in the future.'"

8. Don't be like her. Long says that the Republicans have to pick a candidate whose views are different enough from Clinton's in order to motivate the base. Put that together with her high negatives and you have a chance at winning, he says. Former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, the GOP nominee against Clinton last fall, echoes Long: "When candidates run away from their core beliefs they are destined to lose. If you are a Republican, run as one."

9. Get a good daughter. Dal Col says Chelsea Clinton is Sen. Clinton's secret weapon: "When she showed up it had the perfect effect. She humanizes her." And the fact that she's somebody's mom makes it more difficult to go negative on her, he says. "At the end of the day she's a mother and look at the child. No one can throw stones there."

10. Be grateful just to compete against her and you may get an invite to the White House. Nonna Noto, now at the Congressional Research Service, ran against Sen. Clinton in the Wellesley student government elections in the spring of 1968. She has vague recollections of the race but says she was lucky to become Hillary's vice president. "She has been very generous and invited the entire class to the White House twice. We hope to be invited along again if she gets elected," she says.

—With Katie Connolly

© 2007