Hillary Clinton delivers a solid performance

[DemocratSinceBirth]

DES MOINES — Eight years ago, Barack Obama came to the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in the key early caucus state of Iowa and delivered a barn-burning speech that jump-started his presidential campaign and paved his way to victory in the state caucuses less than two months later.

Saturday night, Democrats came together again, but it’s doubtful that any of the rousing speeches delivered by candidates Martin O’Malley, Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders will have the same dramatic effect. Instead, this year’s dinner offered clear confirmation of Clinton’s advantage in the primary fight and how hard it will be for her opponents to make up ground against her.


The gap between the candidates could not have been more evident in their speeches. Sanders, who has largely eschewed going after Clinton, changed course — though he refused to attack the frontrunner by name. Instead he played up his consistent, principled positions on a number of key issues — from gay rights and free trade to the war in Iraq, regulating Wall Street, and the Keystone pipeline.

What do all these issues have in common? They are ones in which Clinton has, shall we say, evolved. Or in the case of the Iraq War, been on the wrong side for the Democratic rank-and-file. Sanders appears to recognize that he needs to make a stronger contrast with Clinton and to play on the suspicion among many liberals that she is not a true progressive, and her positions have changed over time — and may change again if she becomes president.


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Also, for a candidate who is not actually a Democrat and who has faced huge obstacles in winning over minority support, his failure to acknowledge Vice President Joe Biden, who announced last week that he will not join the race, or say anything about the Black Lives Matter movement were major unforced errors. The event, after all, is a state Democratic dinner. One can’t help but also wonder about the residual impact on Iowa Democrats of the fact that many of his backers walked out of the hall during Clinton’s speech.


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Simply put, she is not a natural politician like her husband or the current president. Clinton is, nonetheless, a solid speaker and a disciplined pol, good enough to hold her own in a campaign where her political advantages are plentiful.

That is really the bottom line. For all of Sanders impressive fundraising, his strong polling in New Hampshire and Iowa and his boisterous supporters, Clinton continues to hold a strong advantage in the race for the nomination. With Republicans self-marginalizing and prepping for what seem a drawn out and messy nomination fight, Clinton has the edge for the general election as well. Right now she doesn’t need to be great, she needs to be solid. Saturday night she did that.



https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2015/10/25/clinton-delivers-solid-performance/awhmdsUNIbaKv6OUe73uqI/story.html