"Score One for Hillary Clinton" - David Yepsen

Yepsen: Clinton’s fine showing should help her in Iowa

By DAVID YEPSEN
REGISTER POLITICAL COLUMNIST

June 29, 2007


Score one for Hillary Clinton.

The New York senator turned in the single most impressive performance during a debate among the Democratic presidential candidates Thursday night in Washington, D.C.

Clinton was crisp, cogent and methodical in her answers. She understood better than any of the other candidates the need for terse answers when so many candidates are given so little time in which to answer questions.

It’s more than just a debating skill. American presidents lead the nation through television appearances, and Clinton’s performance Thursday night suggests she can do that. She showed she has mastered the ability to put a lot of information into a few seconds on the tube.

She did that by talking more about solutions instead of yammering about how bad the problems are. Some of her opponents, who’ve had careers in the U.S. Senate or House, didn’t get to the point before their time was up.

Her performance Thursday night was so good it should help her cement her lead in polls of the race nationally. In Iowa, where she’s not been doing as well as she is across the country, it should help her break away from Barack Obama and try to overtake John Edwards.

Obama held his own, but at this stage in the race, he needed something more stellar to show he’s got some depth on issues. (His most memorable moment came when he made it clear he got his HIV test with his wife.)

A big disappointment was John Edwards’ performance. He let himself get lost in the shuffle.