Hillary Clinton won Tuesday night’s Democratic primary debate, less because of anything she said or did than because of what her fellow Democratic candidates would not do.
When the topic of discussion turned to Clinton’s ethics problems, specifically, her email scandal and the lies she has told in defending her candidacy from it, all but one of her four rivals demurred or failed to speak up. It is not that they have never mentioned this matter critically, it is just that when they were standing toe to toe with her they blinked. They demonstrated that they do not have the instinct or toughness to win.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has discussed Clinton’s scandals in the past, was far too timid when he came in front of her in person. Although he drew attention sotto voce to the fact that the email scandal is serious, gratuitously mentioning (to Clinton’s chagrin) the FBI investigation, he ended up giving her an easy out. As he told CNN host Anderson Cooper, “I believe that now that we’re finally having debates, Anderson, that we don’t have to be defined by the email scandal.”
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Bernie Sanders’ reply was to say that “the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails.” This memorable line could have begun a riff arguing for nominating someone without so much baggage, but Sanders contented himself with placing the emails off-limits. He thus earned himself a handshake from Clinton and perhaps a good speaking slot at the Democratic convention next summer.
The one exception was the hapless Lincoln Chafee, who for completely unrelated reasons stands no chance of becoming the Democratic nominee. His words were largely ignored but he was the only one who dared express the concerns that polls show many voters have about Clinton.
“There’s an issue of American credibility out there,” Chafee said, specifically referencing the American credibility lost last decade in the Iraq War. “So any time someone is running to be our leader, and a world leader, which the American president is, credibility is an issue out there with the world. And we have repair work to be done. I think we need someone that has the best in ethical standards as our next president.”
Clinton was asked if she wanted to respond to this, and simply answered, “No.” This succinct statement of contemptuous indifference was met with thunderous applause from within a very pro-Hillary debate studio.
But this will not be so in America as a whole. And if Sanders or Joe Biden or maybe even Martin O’Malley wants to be the Democratic nominee, Clinton’s lack of integrity needs to be a central plank of their campaign. They all missed the boat in the debate, Biden by not showing up at all, Sanders and O’Malley by not showing up ready to fight.
Around 60 percent of potential voters have been telling pollsters all summer and fall that they believe Clinton dishonest and untrustworthy, mostly based on her recent behavior. Her net unfavorable numbers now rival those of Donald Trump. Democratic voters have managed to fool themselves about this so far because no one they find credible has stepped forward to tell them the truth.
Any Democrat who wants to beat her must appeal to Democratic voters’ desire to win: “If you nominate me, then we won’t be discussing her baggage a year from now. We’ll actually have a shot at winning the election.”
Many Democrats hope Joe Biden will jump in and save them from Clinton as nominee. But if he is not willing to impress upon Democrats that her character makes her unfit for the office, then he might as well start enjoying his retirement instead of putting himself through the agony of a losing campaign.
