Hillary Hit It Out of The Park

There's a hotly debated topic bouncing around Democratic circles since last night's presidential debate. Which candidate won: Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton? Bernie Sanders supporters declare their guy was victorious. Hillary Clinton's avid supporters say she won hands down. Over the course of the primary season I'll use this space to opine, critique, and flesh out my thoughts as they relate to the state of the 2016 presidential race. Let me say up front that I'm an unabashed Hillary Clinton supporter. Yes, I'm in the tank. I'm biased. Team Hillary! Hand me the pom-poms...no, wait. Not just yet. Surely you get the point. In my not so humble opinion, Hillary Clinton is the most qualified presidential candidate to lead the country for the next eight years.

Unless Joe Biden decides to get into the race in the very near future, the 2016 Democratic presidential field is set and taking shape. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chaffee, and Jim Webb are running to become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.

Whether you're rooting for Sanders or Clinton, one thing all debate watchers can agree on, Hillary Clinton cleared a big hurdle by turning in a very solid debate performance. Quite frankly, she hit it out of the park. After a brutal summer of endless headlines about the email "scandal" that threatened to derail her bid for president, Clinton snapped back like a prizefighter and brought her A game. Her responses were crisp, confident -- and she looked like she was having fun. More importantly, you got the impression that Hillary Clinton wants to be president. Badly.(As opposed to a certain other legacy candidate.).

Anderson Cooper, CNN's feisty debate moderator, who at times appeared to be interrogating Clinton, asked pointed questions and follow-up questions about her flip-flop on TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) her vote to invade Iraq, and how she would govern differently from the current occupant of the White House. Throughout the evening Clinton advocated for paid family leave and offered a staunch defense of Planned Parenthood and women's reproductive rights. She also displayed a command of foreign policy that none of the candidates on stage demonstrated including a no-fly zone in Syria, a policy that President Obama currently opposes.

The most memorable moment of the evening, however, came when Anderson Cooper asked former Secretary Clinton about her handling of the email issue during her tenure at the State Department. After pressing Clinton for a few moments, Cooper pivoted to Bernie Sanders allowing him to weigh in on the email controversy, leaving the door wide open for an attack on Clinton. We're sick and tired of 'hearing about your damn emails', Sanders said to a standing ovation in the room. At the moment my mind temporarily wandered to Hillary Clinton's Brooklyn headquarters, where I imagined a handful of campaign staffers and interns
high-fiving over a few empty beer bottles. I don't think Bernie's comment was a game changer for Clinton by any means, but it did temporarily cauterize the self-inflicted wound caused by her handling of the controversy and left 15.3 million viewers with the impression that this is a trivial Beltway story that doesn't concern most Americans.
.
In my view, the Democratic nomination is a two person race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Neither Lincoln Chaffee nor Jim Webb will sniff the nomination. Martin O'Malley is a solid progressive on the issues but the most recent poll has the former Maryland governor at fourth in his home state. It would take a combination of events out of Mr.O'Malley's control for him to breakout and be considered a contender. So it'll come down to Hillary and Bernie. Still, there are no guarantees. There will be no coronations. This could be a dog fight to the end. Presidential campaigns are full of surprises, false starts, mental lapses and gaffes. Running for president is grueling work.

For now Hillary Clinton has a small gust of wind at her back. I hope she enjoys it while it lasts. The race is only beginning.