Hillary Clinton, the Serene Queen of the First Democratic Debate

A real surprise, a good surprise and confirmation. On the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 13 in Las Vegas, the first Democratic debate was the antithesis of the first two Republican debates: a serene, polite yet never boring exchange, with just three serious contenders. So what about the also-rans? They were Lincoln Chafee, ex-governor of Rhode Island, a kindly featherweight, and Jim Webb, former senator from Virginia, as unyielding as you’d expect a constipated former Marine to be.

The good surprise? Martin O’Malley, former governor of Maryland, who you’d swear had been imported straight from California with his dazzling white smile, common sense, charisma and conviction, who will surely see some success in the polls.

The confirmation? Bernie Sanders, faithful to his image as a bespectacled moralist, with his honesty, integrity and conviction, and undoubtedly a little too pessimistic and pompous for a televised debate.

The real surprise: Hillary Clinton. Admittedly, many predicted she would be victorious in this debate even before a single word had been said. In the past few days Clinton has succeeded in inching slightly further ahead of Sanders. But who could have imagined such serenity? No nerves; on the contrary, she demonstrated a presidential self-confidence that left no room for doubt.

Head and Shoulders Above the Rest

After going for the jugular on Sanders’ weak point of gun control, stating he “voted against the Brady law five times” — a law regulating handguns — Hillary moved head and shoulders above the rest, benefiting from the huge error made by Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who has explicitly linked the inquest into the death of the ambassador in Benghazi to an anti-Hillary political operation. Her response was clear-cut, indicating what her stance will be on Oct. 22 when a congressional committee grills her on the issue. “This committee is an arm of the Republican National Committee,” Clinton said. This allowed her to completely sidestep her disastrous management of the email controversy.

Hillary is Hillary, Bill is Bill

Even on the subject of her vote in favor of invading Iraq in 2002, Hillary succeeded in sweeping the issue under the carpet, preferring to highlight her experience in the Obama administration and refrain from attacking the president — which will come later, if necessary. What will have been most reassuring for the thousands of Hillary supporters, who were beginning to doubt their favorite, was her poise throughout the debate, an ease which we’ve rarely seen from her before.

It wasn’t until the end of the debate that she fell back on her prepared sound bites about the hardworking middle class, but in the meantime, she showed a quiet pugnacity that was almost unrecognizable. She also proved that there is a clear favorite for the 2016 presidential election: Hillary Rodham Clinton. And she proved that she is not to be disregarded because of her name: Hillary is Hillary, Bill is Bill. “I don’t want anyone to vote for me because of my last name,” she said. Take that, Bill.