• Politics

Hillary Clinton’s Van Is Named for Scooby Doo

3 minute read

Hillary Clinton is driving somewhere between her home in Chappaqua, New York, and her first official campaign stop in Monticello, Iowa, in a van named for a 1960s cartoon.

The armored van — the same vehicle that usually shuttles her to events in New York — has been nicknamed “Scooby” because it reminds the former Secretary of State of the Mystery Machine, the vehicle used by the main characters in the classic “Scooby Doo” cartoons. Aides have gone out of their way to note that the drive was Clinton’s idea.

“She loves her Scooby van,” tweeted Clinton communications director Jen Palmieri Sunday evening.

The 1,000-mile gambit is designed to help reinforce Clinton’s efforts to put a more down-to-earth spin on her campaign — a strategy she has employed successfully in her 2000 run for a U.S. Senate seat in New York.

Here’s journalist Daniel Halper’s description of her first Senate run in New York in his critical book Clinton, Inc.:

They were driving around New York in an armored brown van, “which we had called the mystery machine, the Scooby Doo van, which was an interesting thing to drive and learn to manipulate,” the agent tells me in an interview. That’s because Hillary and her staff objected to the customary limo the First Lady would normally use. They complained the “optics” weren’t right for an aspiring senator who wanted to look like she was a woman of the people—and not a product of the White House.

Clinton, who has said the last time she drove was in 1996, is not in the driver’s seat, instead leaving it to a member of her Secret Service detail. But that doesn’t mean she’s not paying attention to the road, according to Halper’s account.

One former Secret Service officer on her detail remembers driver her around and learning very quickly that Mrs. Clinton is a backseat driver. “She’s a bit of a micromanager. She’d always kind of tell us … thought she knew New York really well and didn’t know the streets, I think, as well as we did.”

Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer criticized the van.

“How stupid do the Clintons think the American people are?” he told TIME. “They pulled the same exact stunt in 2000. This is not resetting, it’s recycling.”

See an Intimate Portrait of Hillary Clinton

With an ice cream cone in hand, Hillary waves to the crowd in Weedsport, New York, as she heads to the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged in Auburn, New York, one of the stops on her Save America's Treasures tour, July 14, 1998.Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME
Getting ready for President Clinton's second inaugural, Hillary gets her first glimpse of daughter Chelsea's short skirt. Jan. 20, 1997Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME
The President and the First Lady Share a private moment, one of their last in the Oval Office. Jan. 11, 2001. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME
Hillary checks her messages upon departure from Malta for the as-yet-undisclosed location, Tripoli, Oct. 18, 2011. This photo was turned into a meme that circulated around the world. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME
Before an appearance with David Letterman, Hillary checks her BlackBerry while Diana Walker takes their picture. Feb. 4, 2008.Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME
Hillary gathers her thoughts moments before her introduction at Nueva Esperanza Academy Charter High School in Philadelphia. Apr. 18, 2008. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME
Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME
Hillary walks up the steps of the US Capitol to meet with Senate leaders. May 16, 2006. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME
Hillary enters a Super Bowl party at a bar and grill in St. Paul Minnesota, where she watches the New York Giants win the game, Feb. 3, 2008. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME

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