Hillary Manhandles FOX's Chris Wallace

Hillary finished her sweep of all of the Sunday shows by videoconference with FOX's Chris Wallace, and she handled him big time.

Wallace just wanted to play rightwing gotcha, but Hillary was ready for him. From beginning to end, she answered his nasty assaults with laughter, making Wallace look like the nasty little bully that he is.

Hillary's most interesting answer was on Iraq. Wallace tried to attack her for voting against funding, claiming it would leave troops exposed on the battlefield. Hillary responded with three major points:

1. The best way to protect the troops is to bring them home 
2. Opposing funding is the only way she can effectively register her opposition to Bush's disastrous war
3. She and other Democrats fought throughout the war for adequate body armor and armored vehicles to protect the troops when Bush refused to do so

She was especially passionate and angry on the last point. 

Not very long ago, Democratic leaders cowered in fear of the Republican smear that cutting funds would leave the troops vulnerable. But Hillary has gotten past that fear and learned how to counterattack with deadly accuracy.

The big question is: will the rest of the Democrats follow? 

I'll link to the video as soon as I find it...

Update 1: Here is hwc's excellent review:

How did "our girl" hold up against the onslaught? She took high inside fastballs from the best pitchers in the game and pounded extra base hits all morning. A tour de force performance. What a politician. Wow.

She used her trademark laugh to defuse the aggressive questions and stayed relentlessly on message...

They didn't lay a hand on her. Just from a pure political standpoint, a truly stunning performance from a Pro Bowl caliber politician. Clinton knew she was eating Chris Wallace's lunch. There were times when it looked like she was fighting back a grin, she was having so much fun. She knew these guys had been dreaming about roughing her up all year.

This was a very significant milestone in the campaign -- the day she took her message national. Those of us who have been following the Democratic race have seen her skills for months. Much of what we heard today is what we've been hearing in stump speeches, Q&As, Democratic debates, etc. But, most of the voters (and most of the clucking pundits), haven't had the opportunity to see her formidable campaign skills -- the relentless discipline to stay on message with a tone of pure common sense and competence -- until today.

What did the pundits think? The panel on ABC's This Week was practically falling all over themselves. EJ Dionne, Cokie Roberts. It was like they had just seen Elvis. My favorite was David Brooks - Republican NY Times and Lehrer News Hour pundit. Looking like he had just received a lap dance, he stopped barely short of endorsing her right on the spot, gushing over how "presidential" and "serious" and "thoughtful" she sounded. About how she would appeal to moderate voters.

The response of the FOX panel was even more shocking. Of course, the two "weak-knee NPR liberals" (in Fox parlance) were impressed. But, Brit Hume (who has covered a few Presidents) could barely contain himself. Not that he agreed with her issues, but that her performance was so commanding. He knows a home run hitting politician parrying gotcha questions and staying on message when he sees one. He talked about how her charming laugh demolished Wallace's ambush questions. Talked of her command of the issues. Of her sensible, moderate positioning designed to appeal to general election voters. He summed it up by saying that, if she performs like that, she'll be formidable...

Which brings us to the real importance of today - mark it on your calendars as the day Hillary moved from world of diehard Dems and introduced herself to the country at large. The first time most Americans saw her smile. And, laugh. And talk about the mistakes she's made and the lessons she's learned. And her calm dismissal of partisan attacks. And her relentless focus on the issues important to real Americans in their real lives - like getting out of Iraq, health care, etc. Repeatedly challenging the Republicans to stop silly political attacks and start presenting their plans for heath care and the war in Iraq. With her unshakeable message discipline, she showed just how fluent she can be in talking about these issues. It was, as the Clinton campaign has always talked about, a chance for voters to meet Hillary for the first time.

It will be interesting to see the impact of September 23, 2007 on the Presidential race. My guess is that it was devastating to the other Democratic candidates and to the Republicans. I don't know the cost of five 20 minute slots on national TV, but it's millions and millions worth of exposure. Does it force Obama and Edwards to appear on these shows? Probably. Can they perform like Clinton? The Republican candidates, many of whom are probably getting their first look at Hillary, are almost certainly sitting back at campaign headquarters, drinking their dry martinis, and realizing that they have a formidable candidate to contend with in 2008.