As the stretch run of the campaign's first phase begins, it's pretty clear Hillary Clinton needs to recalibrate her approach a bit. Specifically, she has to get herself out of the position in which she's placed herself as the candidate of limited possibility.

Voters want to dream and with Barack Obama, they have someone they can dream about. It's understandable but in opposition, Hillary has defined herself as the candidate who constantly tells you what you can't do. Want to meet with rogue leaders? It's too dangerous. Want to end the war? It's harder than you think. Want to take a flyer on an exciting young new figure in the Democratic party? He can't win. As the first serious woman candidate, Hillary was always going to have trouble with gender stereotypes, but she's all-too-willingly stepped into the role of the lunchroom supervisor who made us eat our broccoli or the teacher who kept us after school because our handwriting wasn't perfect.

That's why Hillary's attacks on Obama's health plans are unlikely to work. With this issue, she's presenting herself as the can-do candidate who is promising more. But no one believes her -- it's too out of character.

It may be that Hillary's criticisms of Obama are correct. But no one wants to hear them, at least now, and at least from her. It may not be easy for her but Hillary needs to accentuate the fun, the positive, and even the grandiose. The truth is that the election of a woman president would be an exciting watershed for America and, indeed, the world. Instead, what voters are getting from the Clinton campaign is that life is tough and so is Hillary. No wonder they're not responding.

To read Steven Stark's complete "Presidential Tote Board" blog, go to www.thephoenix.com/toteboard/