CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger received the first chance to comment on CNN’s Democratic Presidential Town Hall on the late Wednesday edition of CNN Tonight and used the chance to proclaim how a question on ego and humility “lifted the veil on Hillary Clinton” and made for “a very telling moment for me to watch her” discuss being around the “natural” political talent of husband Bill Clinton.
Before turning to Clinton, Borger opined that Senator Bernie Sanders (Vt.) exhibited his “passion for the issues and for what he stands for and what he’s been fighting for his entire career and his life” despite “a little bit weakness on foreign policy.”
Concerning Clinton, Borger observed that “as she answered the question about how do you combine ego with humility, you know, the ego it takes to run for president, and we sort of lifted the veil on Hillary Clinton a little bit.”
As Clinton cited the more outgoing personality of the former President, Borger summarized the former secretary of state’s answer that he “was such a natural and by implication,” Hillary was stating that she “had to work at this because I grew up with this guy who was so good at it and for me, I never thought I would do this and I've had to learn.”
With that in mind, Borger concluded that “it was a very telling moment for me to watch her” at that point in the two-hour town hall.
Liberal writer and CNN political commentator Bill Press made another notable claim later on by gushing about how he “love[s] this format” of having a moderator but taking questions from audience members with the candidates going one at time.
“I got to tell you, I liked it so much better than the debate. We see these candidates and see who they are and how they respond,” Press proclaimed.
Host Don Lemon stepped in momentarily to take issue once Press took a swipe at voters asking better questions than journalists, but when Press was allowed to continue, he opined that the inquiries “were probing and it allows us to see these candidates” and claimed that it was so refreshing to hear Clinton quote Jesuit theologian Henri Nouwen.
“You know, how many times do you see a politician actually quote a Jesuit theologian, you know? And she was talking about what’s in her soul and what’s in her heart,” fawned Press.
Turns out, my colleague Tim Graham astutely noted on Twitter (here, here, and here) that Clinton has invoked Nouwen on numerous occasions for decades.
The relevant portions of the transcript from February 3's CNN Tonight can be found below.
CNN Tonight with Don Lemon
February 3, 2016
11:05 p.m. Eastern
GLORIA BORGER: I think we saw Bernie Sanders' passion for the issues and for what he stands for and what he’s been fighting for his entire career and his life and a little bit weakness on foreign policy I still think and I think we saw in Hillary Clinton as she answered the question about how do you combine ego with humility, you know, the ego it takes to run for president, and we sort of lifted the veil on Hillary Clinton a little bit where she said, I had a husband who was such a natural and by implication saying you know , I had to work at this because I grew up with this guy who was so good at it and for me, I never thought I would do this and I've had to learn and it was a very telling moment for me to watch her.
(....)
11:23 p.m. Eastern
BILL PRESS: Well, first, let me just first of all say that I love this format. I got to tell you. I liked it so much better than the debate. We see these candidates and see who they are and how they respond and with all due respect to our fellow journalists, you would not have gotten the questions that you got from that crowd tonight from journalists who were trying to name for themselves by asking some snarky, nasty question.
BORGER: Wait a minute, wait a minute —
LEMON: But when you're up against a clock, you got 30 seconds, you got 15 seconds, you’re like okay, okay.
PRESS; But they were probing and it allows us to see these candidates. That question, that answer of Hillary's I thought was tremendous. You know, how many times do you see a politician actually quote a Jesuit theologian, you know?
BORGER: Never.
PRESS: — and she was talking about what’s in her soul and what’s in her heart.
DONNA BRAZILE: And to really get this when they were seated to talk about things we don’t hear. Hillary Clinton talking about the death of her mother, thinking about running for office.
