During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, the Washington Post’s Charles Lane helped preview Hillary Clinton’s upcoming testimony before the House Benghazi committee and declared “she comes in brimming with confidence.”
Lane heaped praise on Clinton’s debate performance, specifically when she compared the Republicans with the Iranians as a moment when the Democratic front runner appeared “humorable” and the comments were “net plus for her.”
The Washington Post reporter continued to tout Clinton’s appearance during the CNN debate and how she “slayed a lot of dragons that evening that have been bothering her in this campaign” before he launched into a full-throated defense of her upcoming appearance before the Benghazi committee:
And she comes into this Benghazi hearing on an up note, which just to go back to the Benghazi hearing for a minute, we thought she would be coming in sort of hounded and harassed and on a down note. I think she comes in brimming with confidence.
Not content with his unabashed promotion of Clinton’s debate appearance, Lane concluded his remarks by suggesting the former Secretary of State might try and “turn the tables” on the Republican-lead Benghazi committee:
She's been handed a couple of unforced errors by Kevin McCarthy and company. And we’ve seen, another thing we’ve seen in hearings in the past Brit is where the witness somehow turns the tables on the committee. We’ve seen Oli North do that and I wouldn't be surprised if she's looking for a way to do that. Turn the tables on them.
See relevant transcript below.
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace
October 18, 2015
CHRIS WALLACE: I want to pick up on Hillary Clinton and the debate. By all accounts see she had a strong debate and steadied a campaign that seemed to be in some trouble. But there was one curious moment when she was asked about which of her enemies she was most proud of. Here is the answer.
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, in addition to the NRA, the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the Iranians, probably the Republicans.
WALLACE: The Iranians and the Republicans. Chuck, afterwards Clinton said she was just kidding. Was she?
CHARLES LANE: Well, I don't think so. I think she feels very much hostile to the Republicans and they feel very hostile to her. What struck me there was the question was what's your one enemy and she sort of hogged it and took five enemies. And if you really think about it she's equating the NRA with the Iranians and the health insurance companies with the Republicans, and so on and so forth, but you know, the way that played on television, though, I think was a net plus for her because it was humorable. There she was smiling and she was relaxed and she was at ease. And that was the nature of her performance all the way through that debate.
And I think she slayed a lot of dragons that evening that have been bothering her in this campaign. And she comes into this Benghazi hearing on an up note, which just to go back to the Benghazi hearing for a minute, we thought she would be coming in sort of hounded and harassed and on a down note. I think she comes in brimming with confidence. She's been handed a couple of unforced errors by Kevin McCarthy and company. And we’ve seen, another thing we’ve seen in hearings in the past Brit is where the witness somehow turns the tables on the committee. We’ve seen Oli North do that and I wouldn't be surprised if she's looking for a way to do that. Turn the tables on them.
WALLACE: She’ll try to do that. Again, I think it comes down to the facts. Either the committee has come up with something in 17 months and $5 million or they haven't and that’s going to be the key.
