A Great Night for Hillary Clinton

New York Times: “Her performance at the first Democratic presidential debate was so commanding that even her greatest vulnerability — the lingering controversy over her private email practices as secretary of state — ended up redounding to her benefit.”

Los Angeles Times: “With nods to time spent in the White House Situation Room and crisp answers about five-point plans, she exuded a sense of command that her rivals onstage often seemed to lack. And in sharp contrast with her reticence on the subject during the 2008 campaign, she repeatedly reminded viewers that with her, they could make history: After the U.S. elected its first black president, it now had a chance to elect its first woman.”

Wall Street Journal: “It was a performance that wasn’t long on soaring rhetoric or deep passion, until Mrs. Clinton weighed in emphatically on strengthening family leave policies and funding Planned Parenthood. But it was methodically effective.”

Politico: “Not only was Hillary Clinton on the receiving end of the night’s biggest gift — her rival, Bernie Sanders, declaring it time for people to shut up about her email scandal — she also delivered some of the evening’s most stinging retorts.”

National Journal: “It was a per­form­ance that re­minded people why she was once seen as the Demo­crats’ in­ev­it­able nom­in­ee, and it should serve to sta­bil­ize her strug­gling cam­paign and quiet nervous sup­port­ers who feared her second bid for the White House was in deep trouble.”