NBC's excellent First Read blog previews tonight's Democratic debate in New Hampshire:
We've noticed an interesting pattern: Whenever Clinton gets a tough question or is attacked by an opponent directly, she deflects the criticism with laughter. So, if Clinton's doubled-over in laughter most of the night, we'll know she's the target.
We saw an example of this during Clinton's interview with Chris Wallace. Clinton broke into hysterics when Wallace asked her why she and her husband have a "hyper-partisan" view of politics. In this sense, Hillary's laughter is an acknowledgment of vulnerability. Still, the senator from New York hasn't missed an opportunity to address her vulnerabilities in a substantive fashion, as when she told Wallace:
Well, Chris, if you had walked even a day in our shoes over the last 15 years, I'm sure you'd understand. But you know, the real goal for our country right now is to get beyond partisanship, and I'm sure trying to do my part, because we've got a lot of serious problems that we're trying to deal with.
The Clinton campaign is on autopilot. If current trends persist--and there's no reason to think they will!--she will be laughing all the way to the White House.