Politics / Barack Obama Hillary, Barack Switch Playbooks She tries to soften her image, while he tries to harden his By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff Posted Dec 20, 2007 10:41 AM CST Copied Democratic presidential hopefuls Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., left, and Barack Obama, D-Ill. appear to be switching playbooks, the Boston Globe reports. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa/FILE) (Associated Press) With the Iowa caucuses just weeks away, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama appear to have made an early new year's resolution: to be more like each other. The presidential contenders have switched playbooks, the Boston Globe reports, with Clinton highlighting her feel-good biography and Obama stressing his leadership qualities. "She is trying to soften her image and raise her favorability," said one analyst. Clinton has been trotting out childhood friends and parents of ill children to showcase her advocacy work. Obama is aiming to demonstrate his strength dealing with serious issues. In a recent speech, Obama mostly omitted "hope," his stump speech catchword, and adopted instead a more forceful tone. (More Barack Obama stories.) Report an error