Hillary Clinton and her campaign team think they have the secret to succeeding where President Obama hasn't: House and Senate Republicans.

While political division has reached new heights in Washington, Clinton's team is making the case that Obama's former top diplomat has a better touch with Republicans, even those who don't like her.

"She is someone who has had success in the past in people wanting to work with her, people who had been politically not aligned with her, I would say, to put it mildly, particularly during her husband's administration," said campaign communications boss Jennifer Palmieri. "She managed a way to find how to make progress."

Hillary Clinton's team says she has a record of working with Republicans. She his shown here with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. AP Photo

One example aides cite: After so-called "Hillarycare" went down in flames in 1994, she worked with Republicans to pass the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health coverage to more than 8 million children.

"They have wanted to work with her in the past," Palmieri said.

And, she added, Clinton will take her battle out of Washington to enlist state and local officials, businesses and non-governmental organizations.

Without criticizing Clinton's former boss, Palmieri said, "It's beyond Washington. I worked for President Obama so I know how hard this can be, you have to advocate."

And when all else fails, Clinton won't go golfing. "She's also someone who stays at it," Palmieri said. "This is part of what she does, she grinds it out."

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.