The July 23 Democratic Debate

Hillary Clinton

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Grade: B+

She had some strong answers, but seemed to be sitting on her lead and didn't emerge as the clear winner like she has in recent debate outings. Clinton took the incorporation of the YouTube questioners' names to an extreme — at times she seemed engaged in monologue-as-dialogue with them, as if they were actually on the stage. Still, she topped main rival Obama at a key moment with a decisive analysis of diplomacy and neatly sidestepped questions about how to define "liberal" (as if she had practiced it!), her gender (smilingly turned the question to her bread and butter-experience and leadership), Elizabeth Edwards' recent challenge to her feminist cred (gracefully turning the other cheek) and the potential Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton dynastic turnoff (with an audience pleasing anti-Bush 43 shot and chaser).

—by Mark Halperin