William Daley warns Hillary Clinton to lean back to the center

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

William Daley and other influential centrist Democrats sent a strong warning Wednesday to Hillary Clinton, who is tilting to the left — at least in her rhetoric — as rival Bernie Sanders makes inroads with the party’s restless progressive wing.

The worry of the centrists: “Left-wing economic populism,” said Jon Cowan, the president of the Third Way, a Democratic public policy organization, at a briefing where the group laid out a manifesto — a menu of ideas for Democrats to consider — including a regional minimum wage boost, not the national increase embraced by President Barack Obama on down.

“The evidence is in, populism has tanked with the middle class,” Cowan said. While Sanders supporters would argue that point, what is true is this: As Obama is wrapping up a second term, his ability to win has not translated to Democratic gains in governorships, in statehouses and in Congress.

Below the presidential level, the party is in free fall, with the fewest Democratic office holders in place since 1928, Cowan said.

Just a reminder.