Ahead of Tuesday’s first Democratic presidential debate, NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America happily parroted campaign talking points declaring Hillary Clinton to be a great debater.
On Today, correspondent Peter Alexander proclaimed: “She is already in a league of her own, the former First Lady, former Secretary of State, and tonight, the only Democrat on stage who's ever been in a presidential debate before. She is a diligent preparer who’s been on debate stages since high school.”
Alexander outlined Clinton’s goals for the event:
At center stage tonight, Clinton's main priority, avoid mistakes that could dominate the headlines. Clinton took part in more than 20 debates during the 2008 contest. Tonight aides hope that practice will help her deliver a strong performance.
Then there’s the ongoing e-mail controversy. While partisan sniping has undercut the House Benghazi Committee, Clinton will try to argue the scandal is fueled by Republican attacks, with the last round of her personal e-mails being released just three days before the Iowa caucuses.
On Good Morning America, correspondent Cecilia Vega eagerly promoted a tweet from the Democratic front-runner:
But take a look at this, I want to show you what Hillary Clinton tweeted overnight this photo of her from high school. That's there in the back row. She says it was during a high school debate team. Hillary Clinton saying that she has been debating important issues since high school...
Here is a full transcript of Alexander’s October 13 report:
7:01 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: First let’s get to our top story, tonight's much-anticipated Democratic debate. The two leading candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, are looking to make their cases to voters and of course to avoid costly mistakes. And three long-shots on the Las Vegas stage, Martin O’Malley, Lincoln Chaffee, and Jim Webb, just trying to get noticed and have a break-out performance.
We’ve got reports from Hillary Clinton’s camp and Bernie Sanders as well. We'll talk to MSNBC contributor Nicole Wallace just ahead. But let us start this morning with NBC national correspondent Peter Alexander. Peter, good morning to you.
PETER ALEXANDER: Hey, Savannah, good morning to you and welcome to Las Vegas. She is already in a league of her own, the former First Lady, former Secretary of State, and tonight, the only Democrat on stage who's ever been in a presidential debate before. She is a diligent preparer who’s been on debate stages since high school. And analysts say a strong showing tonight could either solidify her performance, or if she does poorly, it’ll just give more ammunition to those enemies and opponents who say the campaign wheels are coming off the bus.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Countdown to Democratic Debate; Clinton Protests Trump Before Taking the Stage]
Tonight she'll debate her fellow Democrats, but on the ground in Las Vegas, Hillary Clinton immediately took aim at the Republican front-runner, Donald Trump, showing up unannounced at a union protest outside a Trump-owned hotel.
HILLARY CLINTON: Some people think Mr. Trump is entertaining. But I don't think it’s entertaining when somebody insults immigrants, insults women.
ALEXANDER: At center stage tonight, Clinton's main priority, avoid mistakes that could dominate the headlines. Clinton took part in more than 20 debates during the 2008 contest. Tonight aides hope that practice will help her deliver a strong performance.
Then there’s the ongoing e-mail controversy. While partisan sniping has undercut the House Benghazi Committee, Clinton will try to argue the scandal is fueled by Republican attacks, with the last round of her personal e-mails being released just three days before the Iowa caucuses.
And Clinton will try to deliver a message to Joe Biden, still toying with a run of his own, that despite the controversy, she's still a safe bet.
Finally, can Clinton connect with voters? Former Obama adviser David Axelrod says Clinton's task is to be real. With Clinton facing criticism as a Washington insider, she'll argue that as a woman she's the true outsider candidate.
And lately she's deployed self-deprecation to soften her image, even mocking her robotic demeanor.
CLINTON [BUZZFEED]: I was constructed in a garage in Palo Alto a very long time ago.
ALEXANDER: Bottom line, Clinton advisers have repeatedly insisted that there’s a much bigger difference between the Democrats and Republicans than among the Democrats themselves. Over the course of six months of campaigning, Hillary Clinton has only even mentioned her biggest rival, Bernie Sanders' name, at most a handful of times. Matt and Savannah?
GUTHRIE: We'll see if she sticks with that strategy tonight. Peter Alexander, thank you.
