Debate Post-Mortem: Clinton On The Hot Seat

It's distressing that this Presidential election could turn on the nativist, fearmongering issue of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, around which there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. I'm one of the many in California who has been in an accident with someone who didn't have insurance (I didn't check papers so I don't know if he was "illegal"). The impact on premiums and basic public safety is severe. The guy smashed me into the sidewalk and about 10 inches away from a light pole. If granting licenses means we can track those who can drive and keep those who can't off the road, then there are social benefits to that.

Senator Clinton initially gave a good answer to this, but when challenged by Chris Dodd, who gave one of those positions that sounds noble but actually is more driven by fear and nativism, she suddenly got an image of a Rudy Giuliani press release shouting "HILLARY HEARTS ILLEGALS" in her head or something, and decided she couldn't endorse the plan fully. So after a couple minutes of saying it was a good idea and defending it, she couldn't endorse it.

Forgive me if I see that as a microcosm of what would happen in a Clinton presidency. She takes a strong position on the issue, then reads the focus groups, or just imagines them, and instead of doing the hard work of educating the public, she stops short and hedges because of perceived political costs. That describes her husband's presidency in many ways, and while it was a hell of a lot better than 8 years of George W. Bush, it's inappropriate for the unique moment we face today. I'd rather go with someone who thinks like this.



Edwards was absolutely right to point out Clinton's answer on the driver's license issue. She spoke on both sides of it in two minutes flat. It's one thing to make an accusation that Clinton uses doubletalk, it's quite another to have it come up in the middle of the debate. Clinton displayed for the viewers exactly what the rest of the field, particularly Edwards and Obama, was saying about her the whole night. That was powerful. And it ought to be the takeaway from this debate.

I thought Clinton was under duress the whole night, but she largely fought it off. She defended her position on Iran - I don't agree with it, but she defended it - and gave some good answers in the middle of the debate. But by ending up on every side of the driver's license issue, she proved Edwards and Obama's point. She came off like a slick politician. And she recalled the worst of the Clinton years instead of the best, as she has been doing throughout the campaign.

It has the chance to be a pivotal moment if the press can get over giggling about how Dennis Kucinich saw a UFO, ignoring the three times he called for impeachment, of course.

UPDATE: This was Edwards' other best moment:

Edwards ... challenged her assertion that she was putting pressure on the administration when she voted for Kyl-Lieberman. "So the way do that was to vote Yes on a resolution that looks like it was written literally by the neocons?" Edwards said in disbelief.

Her answer on Kyl-Lieberman is incoherent, but at least it was an answer. The driver's license thing was a total implosion.