Somewhere in the dark wilderness of Texas, a car door is being opened and the lifeless body of whoever wrote Hillary Clinton’s attack lines is being dumped in a ditch. OK, that might be a little extreme, and even the Hillary campaign isn’t that tough. But metaphorically at least I wouldn’t be surprised, because in her self-described “must win” state of Texas, she murdered her lines while attempting to go after Barack Obama in Thursday night’s debate.
For those who came in late, this was about Obama borrowing a phrase from an ally, and not attributing it. It should have been a simple one-day sly dig, of the sort that campaigns toss around on an hourly basis. Last night Obama rightly dismissed it as silly. But the Hillary campaign wanted to make a meal of it — and in the middle of Thursday night’s debate, when the subject came up, Hillary pulled the trigger, saying: “Lifting whole passages from someone else’s speeches is not change you can believe in, it’s change you can Xerox.”
At which point the crowd booed her — the only such display of the night. But instead of cutting her losses and leaving it, she plowed on, and even told Obama to “look at the YouTube of these videos”. Xerox?
The YouTube of these videos? Anyone under the age of, oh, 30 would have found all of that amusing, reminiscent of Ted Stevens’ “series of tubes”. It smacked of both confection and confusion, a desperate hunt for a “Where’s the beef?” moment. It was reported Thursday that the Hillary campaign spent $1,300 on donuts last month. Maybe the speechwriters were hyperglycemic when they came up with that one.
Up until that point Hillary had been performing well, as she usually does in these debates. Obama began this election cycle as a weak debater. But either through practice — this was the 19th debate between the Democratic candidates — or instruction, Obama has improved substantially, and Thursday night was his most assured performance. He was focused and detailed, inserting the anecdotes and illustrations to compliment his policy proposals — and there was plenty of detail, especially on healthcare. He looked and sounded — sorry, but there is no other word for it — presidential.
Obama responded to Hillary’s accusations that he’s “just talk” with dexterity, asking if all the people supporting him had somehow been delusional and duped. That got a laugh and a cheer — another sign the audience was behind him. Obama’s smartest move in this debate may have been his careful emphasis on issues appealing to Latinos, especially in backing citizenship for the children of immigrants, a huge issue in Texas.
But this debate was an illustration in miniature of the arc of the Democratic primary campaign. A polished performance by Hillary was marred by an over-rehearsed and inept delivery when it counted. And she wouldn’t change tack, even when the crowd was booing. Instead there was more talk of her experience, an argument that appears to have long since lost its luster. Yet — as she has several times — Hillary showed hints of what could have been a different approach. But it came too late, at the end of this debate, when she gave an inspiring peroration and sparked a standing ovation:
“No matter what happens in this contest — and I am honored, I am honored to be here with Barack Obama. I am absolutely honored. Whatever happens, we’re going to be fine. You know, we have strong support from our families and our friends. I just hope that we’ll be able to say the same thing about the American people, and that’s what this election should be about.”
Normally, an ovation would be a good sign for the candidate who had just spoken. But read Hillary’s words — they carry the scent of a valedictory address. Time is running out. Perhaps the audience in Texas got to its feet not in acclaim but in farewell.
