So Far, Clinton Is Running An Almost Flawless Campaign

I have spent a lot of time on this blog going on about the failings of the Donald Trump campaign but I have spent hardly a word on Hillary Clinton. And that’s primarily because she has managed to simply stay out of the way and let Trump sink himself. Besides a small misstep when she said she “short-circuited” an answer during a Chris Wallace interview, she has largely run a pretty faultless campaign. The convention hit all the right notes and was remarkably successful. She has handled the “scandals” surrounding Benghazi and the email server pretty well. Her attacks on Donald Trump have basically used Trump’s owns words against him, inoculating her from any of the usual trope that she is lying about his record. And she continues to make substantive policy proposals such as today’s proposal on mental health.  Of course, everyone probably recognizes that none of these proposals will actually get through Congress as it is currently aligned but they continue to provide a stark contrast with the Trump campaign. She comes across as the serious candidate while he continually stumbles, now even having problems explaining his own immigration proposal which really is the centerpiece of his campaign. And that’s not even talking about the superior organization that Clinton has built around the country. I kind of doubt whether she can keep this kind of “stealth” campaign going all the way until the election, especially when the debates roll around. Additionally, this kind of campaign may not energize enough new voters, making it harder for Democrats to win the Senate and, perhaps, even the House. It maybe that Trump alone will provide the impetus for a Democratic wave. For now, however, Hillary is running an exceptional campaign.