Hillary Clinton debate gaffe thrills conservative ad-makers

Hillary Clinton dates herself during the second Democratic presidential primary debate.
(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Hillary Clinton unintentionally made the jobs of conservative ad-makers a little bit easier during the second Democratic debate on Saturday evening when she stumbled over a question about campus protests to wax nostalgic about her own college days. "I come from the '60s, a long time ago. There was a lot of activism on campus," Clinton said in reply to the moderator's question.

By indirectly playing up her age, Clinton, 68, played right into the hands of her critics. "I can guarantee that this will appear in some ad at some point," pollster Frank Luntz told The Washington Post. "Nobody, Republican or Democrat, wants to vote for a candidate from the 1960s when we're well into the 21st century."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.