Connelly: 'Shattered,' Clinton's campaign was a ship seeking an iceberg

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to a group at the IAM District 751 Everett Union Hall, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. She would be swamped by Bernie Sanders in the state's Democratic caucuses.

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to a group at the IAM District 751 Everett Union Hall, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. She would be swamped by Bernie Sanders in the state's Democratic caucuses. Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Connelly: 'Shattered,' Clinton's campaign was a ship seeking an iceberg 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

The disconnected "data driven" 2016 campaign of Hillary Clinton helped deliver to America the disorganized, ego-driven presidency of Donald Trump.

"Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign" (Crown, $28) explains how Clinton put it all together: Feuding centers of power, states taken for granted, inadequate field operations, an out-of-touch candidate, and disconnect with blue-collar voters once described by Bill Clinton as "those who work hard and play by the rules."

The book's account of the Democrats' national campaign mirrors what was taking place in this Washington.

Bill Clinton used to come out here for big Pike Place Market rallies and a bus tour across Southwest Washington. Hillary Clinton closeted herself with big donors. She last answered a Northwest press question in 2008.

Democratic luminaries, e.g. Veep nominee Tim Kaine and Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, came but were never seen in public. They made cameo appearances at a party headquarters in Madrona, a Seattle neighborhood that votes 90 percent Democratic.

Once upon a time, in this writer's memory, the party's message delivered on the radio was: "Vote Democratic, the party for you, not just the few." The party's 2016 motto could have been, "Democrats: Behind closed doors."

Hillary carried the state, Gov. Inslee was reelected, but the Democrats took a bath in State Senate races, contests for the Snohomish and Pierce County Councils, and county commissioner races across once-solid Democratic turf.

"Shattered" is fair to its subject. It gives full treatment to hits taken by the Clinton campaign. Whenever Hillary seemed to put the email controversy behind her, she was snared once more. The culmination was FBI director Jim Comey announcing a reopening for the cause just 11 days before election day.

Yet, the Clinton campaign was replete with unforced errors. The candidate tongue-lashed her staff, never shouldering blame. "Shattered" reports:

"The one person with whom she didn't seem particularly upset: Herself. No one who drew a salary from the campaign would tell her that. It was a self-signed death warrant to raise a question about Hillary's competence -- to her or anyone else -- in loyalty-obsessed Clintonworld."

After Hillary lost the Michigan primary to Bernie Sanders, a harbinger of things to come in November, aides endured a browbeating. Clinton claimed her message was "off" and that Mook's analytics were off.

"The list went on and on," the authors write. "The underlying truth -- the one many didn't want to admit to themselves -- was that the person ultimately responsible for these decisions, the one whose name was on the ticket, hadn't corrected for these problems, all of which had been brought to her attention before primary day."

The candidate, and her campaign, seemed to eschew contact with the folks.

A classic political story, out of Massachusetts, was of future House Speaker Thomas "Tip" O'Neill trudging home after losing his first race for office.

"I voted for you, Thomas, although you didn't ask me to," his landlady said. O'Neill replied that he knew he could count on her. "Thomas, it's nice to be asked," she replied.

Hillary didn't ask. She never set foot in Wisconsin in the general election campaign, and did only one 11th hour touchdown in Michigan. Such Democratic bastions as Erie and Scranton in Pennsylvania were ignored, and voted for Trump. (So did Grays Harbor County in Washington.)

Instead, Hillary was raising money in Martha's Vineyard, joining Cher onstage in Provincetown, Mass., hitting the Hamptons and mingling with Jimmy Buffett, Harvey Weinstein, Jon Bon Jovi and Sir Paul McCartney at Sag Harbor on Long Island.

One person sensed something wrong, and understood the populist vibes sweeping America -- Bill Clinton. Amazingly, the young analytics whizzes -- one of whom was glowingly profiled in the New York Times -- treated Bill as old, out-of-touch with modern technology and of "little value."

"Bill liked data, but he believed it was insufficient," write authors Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes. "To him, politics wasn't just about finding people who agreed with you and getting them to the polls. He felt that it was important to talk to voters individually, and get a real sense for what they were feeling. He also believed that a candidate could persuade voters with the right argument."

Disconnect with "the folks" intensified hits on Clinton's credibility, whether administered by Donald Trump or emails hacked by the Russians. Hillary simply wasn't liked. She had collected too much scar tissue from a quarter-century on the national stage.

Post-election polls showed that a quarter of Trump's voters believed he was unqualified to be president. Anger at being left behind, at an American dream slipping from their grasp, trumped doubts about Trump.

The Clinton have loomed above the Democratic Party like a banyan tree, blocking light and stunting growth. As well, the party was decimated at the state and local level during the Obama years.

Can it grow out again? Reconnect with rural areas and non-college educated white voters? Get beyond stifling identity politics? Nurture a new generation of leaders?

Democratic National Chairman Tom Perez is in Seattle -- yes, the liberal island of Seattle -- on Tuesday. He has the challenge of challenging the troops.