ABC’s ‘Scandal’ season 5, episode 15 video: Mellie gets the focus-group treatment

Mellie Grant on “Scandal” is certainly someone who thinks that she knows what is right for the United States, and she may be right. What’s the problem then? It may have something to do with the fact that nobody wants to hear about how someone is so smart the vast majority of the time.

In the sneak peek below from Thursday night’s new episode of the ABC series, a focus group reveals what some of the problems are for Mellie in her campaign. At the moment, one of the biggest ones just seems to be that people find her a little bit of a know-it-all, and while in theory it may be great to have a smart President, it can also be a little off-putting to have a leader who thinks that they are above it all.

As Olivia tells Mellie, her big challenge now is going to be coming across as relatable, and the sort of person who the entirety of the country will want to support and vote for come election day. They want to see some of themselves in her, and have her actually take their plight seriously. The book that she wrote was designed in part to hit them on an emotional level, but she needs to do more than just have something in writing describing who she is; she needs to do a better job showing it to the masses.

For the time being, the Preisdential field is certainly more crowded than it has been this season. Specifically, the arrival of Hollis Doyle to the race changes things.

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