Clinton focuses on her résumé, main attack line falls flat

Defying expectations, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) mostly concentrated on her own résumé in Thursday night’s debate, a decision reinforced by the fact that her sharpest attack on rival Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was booed by the partisan crowd.

Ahead of the Austin, Texas, Democratic debate, it was widely believed that Clinton would have to go on the offensive to stop the momentum Obama has generated by winning 10 straight nominating contests. But the former first lady left home the sharp knives and instead tried to beat Obama on the issues in an often nuanced debate.

{mosads}On most topics, the two remaining Democratic candidates made clear that they are largely in agreement as they repeatedly noted that their differences are with the Republicans and not each other.

Both candidates landed some jabs, but Clinton managed to also score points on policy questions as Obama, aware of his frontrunner status, played it safe.

The former first lady appeared to pick the right strategy, as her only open attack on Obama backfired with the partisan crowd.

“I think that if your candidacy is going to be about words, then they should be your own words,” Clinton said, a reference to charges of plagiarism that her campaign has brought against Obama.

“And, you know, lifting whole passages from someone else’s speeches is not change you can believe in, it’s change you can Xerox,” Clinton said to boos from the audience.

However, she also had the strongest moment of the evening, which resulted in a rousing standing ovation.

She talked about visiting a rehab center for injured soldiers, stating that “the hits I’ve taken in life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country.”

“No matter what happens in this contest — and I am honored, I am honored to be here with Barack Obama. I am absolutely honored,” Clinton said. “Whatever happens, we’re going to be fine. You know, we have strong support from our families and our friends. I just hope that we’ll be able to say the same thing about the American people, and that’s what this election should be about.”