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The Democratic Party that rejected Hillary Clinton in 2008 is even more distant from her now. Its more resistant to military entanglements, more leery of Wall Street and more firmly in favor of pot smoking.

And theres Clinton, still stubbornly centrist to the core, straddling the fence on legalizing marijuana, staying close to her supporters in the world of finance, making clear shed have armed Syrian moderates when President Barack Obama didnt -- and all but certain to win the partys nomination this time.

If this Clinton Paradox seems hard to explain, its not, some Democrats contend.

Rather than having fallen in love with Clinton, many of her would-be detractors are motivated by a trio of cold calculations: They want to win, shes the strongest candidate in an otherwise weak 2016 field, and she might prove better at advancing items on their agenda than Obama, who has struggled to push a legislative agenda since Democrats lost control of the U.S. House two years into his first term.

Clinton could be forgiven for chuckling at the irony. Turns out for a lot of Democrats, Obamas hope and change was a lot more hope than change -- which was her point all along in 2008.

Regardless of your philosophical leanings within the Democratic Party, theres overwhelming support for Clinton, says Mitch Stewart, who embodies the changes of mind and money about Clinton that have made her the clear choice of a Democratic Party that sent her packing six years ago.

If she runs again, advisers to Hillary Clinton have said, shell do more to appeal to voters who want to see the first woman president -- a tack she avoided in the early stages of the 2008 campaign but began to embrace at the end. Close

If she runs again, advisers to Hillary Clinton have said, shell do more to appeal to... Read More

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If she runs again, advisers to Hillary Clinton have said, shell do more to appeal to voters who want to see the first woman president -- a tack she avoided in the early stages of the 2008 campaign but began to embrace at the end.

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Different Party, Different Year, Same Hillary