The Sunday before the first presidential debate of 2016 was filled with analysis and speculation about how the candidates were going to perform. It was the same on CNN’s Inside Politics were their panel touted Hillary Clinton’s ability to debate. Host John King played a clip of Clinton leaving Senator Bernie Sanders speechless after slamming his questions about her speaking fees as a smear, saying it was a clue about how Monday’s debate might turn out.
CNN’s Nia-Malika Henderson seemed almost in awe of Clinton’s counter of Sanders, noting his lack of a response wasn’t good for him. “One of the things Hillary Clinton does well in these debates, she often knows the record of the other person better than they know their own record,” she stated, praising Clinton, “And, she's able to bring something out in these debates in a tack that we haven't heard before.”
Henderson seemed to almost coach Clinton on how to answer questions about her e-mails. “I think on the e-mail thing, she's going to have to answer the question like it's the first time she's hearing it,” she noted. She went on to explain that a highly rehearsed answer to those questions could hurt her campaign, just like Michael Dukakis was hurt by a practiced answer to a question about his position on the death penalty.
Expounding on Henderson’s point about the Clinton’s answers to e-mail questions, New York Times National Correspondent Jonathan Martin seemed almost shocked by how much people don’t trust Clinton. “The mistrust of her is remarkable, and we see it in the polling,” he pointed out, sounding dismayed, “But after you talk to voters it's just incredible the degree to which people believe she's dishonest.”
Molly Ball, Politics Writer for The Atlantic, concluded that Clinton had two paths she could travel during the debate:
I mean, this is a really interesting choice for her. Of, does she want to radically remake her image, be warm and fuzzy, convince America for the first time ever that she is this wonderfully likeable person, or does she double down on her strengths while acknowledging that that's a weakness.
Ball finally settled on the latter, noting, “And I think that's a much more effective route for her. You know, on the e-mails she gets lost in the weeds and gets defensive and that's a real trap for her.”
Transcript below:
CNN
Inside Politics
September 25, 2016
8:44:40 AM Eastern…
JOHN KING: And if he challenges her credibility we know she will go after his transparency. Where are your taxes, Mr. Trump? What are your ties to Russian businesses, Mr. Trump? Who do you owe bank money to, Mr. Trump? She’s trying to get at that.
JONATHAN MARTIN: Muddy the waters.
KING: Muddy the waters. And try to make him more risky than her. And here is something she did. Again, we look at these past debated to get clues about what might happen on the stage. Check this out.
[Clip from a Hillary Clinton/Bernie Sanders debate]
HILLARY CLINTON: If you've got something to say, say it directly. But you will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation that I ever received. So I think it's time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign…
BERNIE SANDERS: Oh, come on.
CLINTON: …have been carrying out in recent weeks and let's talk -- let's talk about the issues.
[Cuts back to live]
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON: Bernie Sanders, no response there. Not so good. One of the things Hillary Clinton does well in these debates, she often knows the record of the other person better than they know their own record. And, she's able to bring something out in these debates in a tack that we haven't heard before. And that will be interesting to see what she's able to do with Donald Trump. I think on the e-mail thing, she's going to have to answer the question like it's the first time she's hearing it. You played the Dukakis thing about him answering about Kitty Dukakis and he later said that the reason he answered it that way was because he heard the question a thousand times, and he was very cavalier about it. So, I think that's going to be her challenge with the e-mails.
MARTIN: The mistrust of her is remarkable, and we see it in the polling. But after you talk to voters it's just incredible the degree to which people believe she's dishonest. And to that end I think Jeff is right. You can't litigate the nature of e-mails. You have to show contrition. And say I understand why folks have concerns about me and then move on and make it about him.
KING: You do get a new look in these debates though. A very prominent democratic strategist who is close to the Clintons, he was joking but not really when I asked, “What’s her what's her biggest priority in this debate?” And he said, “I'll take likeable enough.” That was a line Obama used— That was a line Obama used against Clinton. You get the idea— You do get a fresh look, I don’t know how much of a brand new look. But a fresh look when you're on the debate stage because you're at that key moment. Can she rise to that, I guess is the challenge.
MOLLY BALL: I mean, this is a really interesting choice for her. Of, does she want to radically remake her image, be warm and fuzzy, convince America for the first time ever that she is this wonderfully likeable person, or does she double down on her strengths while acknowledging that that's a weakness. I think that's something she did well in the primaries. Were she said, “Look, I get it, I’m not little Ms. Charismatic, but here's what I am good at. Here is where I am on the substance of things.”
And I think that's a much more effective route for her. You know, on the e-mails she gets lost in the weeds and gets defensive and that's a real trap for her.
…
