Pulling punches, Clinton hopes Trump will author his own unmaking

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton was in a prime position Sunday night to seize upon the controversy that has ensnared her opponent since audio and video emerged revealing him admitting unwanted sexual advances on a married woman and boasting about sexual assault.

Clinton, who strives to make history as the first woman elected president, found herself on a platform across from a man who can be heard bragging that, because of his celebrity, he can grab women by their genitals. The juxtaposition provided quite the contrast.

But instead of spending a great deal of time, energy and capital on reminding voters of this, she adopted a different strategy. Clinton appeared set on demonstrating a belief that the person on stage who could do the most damage to Trump was himself.

She attacked him for his lewd comments, but not without being prompted by the moderators. She prefaced her answer by invoking Michelle Obama’s line at this summer’s Democratic National Convention, “When they go low, we go high.”

She then regurgitated her charge that Trump is unfit to be president and said, “What we all saw and heard on Friday was Donald talking about women. What he thinks about women. What he does to women. And he has said that the video doesn’t represent who he is. But I think it’s clear to anyone who heard it that it represents exactly who he is.”

But when the debate moved on from that subject, so did she. Perhaps it was in order to avoid her opponent continuing to use allegations of her husband Bill Clinton’s past behavior, but more likely it was because she thinks she doesn’t have to keep bringing it up.

Throughout the rest of the town hall face-off, she showed restraint in not pouncing on opportunities to criticize Trump, including his characterization of his salacious language as “locker room talk.”

In doing so, she missed several chances to counterattack on some of the most egregious things said by the Republican nominee.

He threatened to jail her if he was elected president, which, as many noted on social media, is about as democratic a sentiment as hummus is an Irish delicacy.

“I didn’t think I’d say this but I’m going to say it, and I hate to say it, but if I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation because there has never been so many lies, so much deception, there has never been anything like it and we’re going to have a special prosecutor,” Trump said, referring to her email scandal.

Clinton’s response? She referred to the fact-checkers and then remarked, “It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.”

“Because you would be in jail,” Trump then told her.

Clinton let it go.

She also let it slide when Trump made the erroneous claim that “Assad is killing ISIS, Russia is killing ISIS, Iran is killing ISIS.” The former secretary of state explained her plans without calling out Trump for the inaccuracy of his contention.

Shortly before Trump’s statement, to be sure, she mentioned that Russia had not been targeting Islamic State militants and had maintained an interest in protecting Syrian President Bashar Assad. But she subjected Trump to no counter for an assessment that virtually all of the national security establishment has rejected.

Compare her debate tactics with how US President Barack Obama treated his challenger, Mitt Romney, in the last election cycle.

To take one example: When Romney disparaged the commander-in-chief in a debate because, he said, “The Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917,” Obama mocked him by retorting, “Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed.”

With Clinton and Trump, it was markedly different. Other than a few jabs here and there — for not releasing his tax returns, for making controversial proposals, by saying he “lives in an alternative reality” — she appeared content to let him go on and rant and lead himself into political minefields.

Her objective was evidently to appear poised and presidential in contrast to the bombast and bellicosity of Trump. Rather than actively placing him on the defensive all night, she borrowed a page from former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski’s playbook: “Let Trump be Trump.”

Because if the last few days are any indicator, she had seemingly concluded, he can accomplish for her something she can’t: self-reveal, and thus self-destruct.