While Kaine spoke in Iowa, Clinton was at Temple University in Pennsylvania, another battleground state, making a similar pitch. She remembers being frustrated and disenchanted with government during the Vietnam War, Clinton said. She admitted that her penchant for privacy -- a constant source of unnecessary scandal -- might be feeding millennials' suspicions.

But it's Clinton's history -- including her victories -- that is, in fact, her undoing with the young. Her vote for the Iraq War will never cease to exist. Sen. Bernie Sanders successfully pinned her as just another influence-peddling elitist during the Democratic primary.

And, perhaps of greatest note, the political landscape has shifted in the past decade.

Clinton speaks of her years as an "activist," when trying to sway the young to show up to the polls. But, by and large, Clinton and her ilk have won many of the fights they took up. Women are heading toward economic equality and enjoy full-fledged social agency. She was against gay marriage before being for it. Obama took up Clinton's health care crusade and finished it. The fact is, the once cutting edge and progressive are now accepted norms. Time has, in many regards, passed Clinton by.