Clinton is running hard as 'Hillary Obama,' says PBS analyst Mark Shields
PBS hosted a spirited, earnest, mostly break-free Democratic debate in Milwaukee on Thursday night, and its post-debate analysis by Hari Sreenivasan was similarly different from the post-game chatter we've seen on cable news and network TV. When they joined Sreenivasan, liberal columnist Mark Shields and conservative columnist David Brooks agreed that Hillary Clinton started out the debate stronger and Bernie Sanders ended the night fighting on his home turf.
Clinton's "strategy was pretty simple, it struck me," Shields said. "She ran as Hillary Obama. She hugged the president, she wouldn't let any daylight between them, and accused Bernie of infidelity." Brooks laughed, quipping, "That's good, coming from a Clinton." He argued that Clinton's "Obama moment is the moment that will go viral, when she dropped the Obama bomb" on Sanders. But Sanders ended the night in good shape, he said, in part because he has a "core narrative" and so these debates are "always sort of on his turf," but also because "he's unhindered by budgetary reality," while Clinton "limits herself to what is practically possible."
Brooks returned to that theme later. "I think the question for Sanders is, is there a point where the Democratic voters begin to say, 'Wait, is any of this actually going to happen?'" he said. "Are people going to think, 'Is any of this ever going to happen?' Because it seems highly implausible unless the Democrats sweep everything.... Whether people get that, sort of, into the wonkery of it, or whether they just want to express some anger, is really the core question between these two." Watch the earnest Shields-Brook wonkery below. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Global court issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu
Speed Read The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stand accused of war crimes
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz bows out, Trump pivots to Pam Bondi
Speed Read Gaetz withdrew from attorney generation consideration, making way for longtime Trump loyalist Pam Bondi
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom ban
Speed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published