Hillary: The Resilient Lady in Pink Enters the Zone

Doug Heye thinks only Hill could have met up with Bill:

Except those hoping to see Clinton fail, liberals and progressives most likely did not tune in. Of North Carolina Democrats watching last night’s interview, many are those suffering from buyer’s remorse on Obama. They are votes she desperately needs.

By appearing on The O’Reilly Factor, the state’s most-watched news program, Clinton is sending a message to voters throughout eastern North Carolina.

She demonstrated a willingness to enter the “lion’s den” and not back down under aggressive questioning — the Sunday shows are tough, but unlikely to overtly accuse Clinton of waffling, misleading, or wanting to bankrupt the country. Prior to last night, it’s doubtful she had heard the word “bupkis” in an interview.

My favorite moment: "You know you're gonna bankrupt the country with health care, right?" Overall, it was a friendly, feisty, interesting interview in which she seemed in control and even kind of funny at times. Her quip about Moses being able to help with health care was pretty funny. Could she be...likeable?

Will it make a difference in North Carolina? Things are clearly swinging her way (10 points since Wright's Q&A), and appearing on the state's most-watched news show, during which she made no noticeable gaffes, can't be a bad thing. "I learned a lesson from Ronald Reagan," wasn't a bad touch, either, although shouldn't she have to answer for calling him a "great American politician" after slapping Obama repeatedly for admiring Reagan's ability to change the direction of the country?

Her policies are liberal, and people will see that, but many North Carolina Democrats are blue-collar ones with reservations about free trade, gas prices, and oil company profits, so her bread-and-butter sell is not a bad one. Taking oil profits simply because she think they're too high and health-care mandates may have been bridges a bit too far, but that's who she is.

In other Hillary news, she'd totally date a Republican:

The question: "If your husband gave you a pass for one night and you could go on a date with any celeb, alive or dead, who would it be?"

She also hasn't had any work done, apparently. I want to know who the reporter is who asked her who'd she'd cheat on her husband with and whether she'd had a facelift. (Update: People Magazine asked the first one.) Now, that's testicular fortitude.

She's got Gov. Easley of N.C. starring in ad for her, calling her "determined" and "resilient," which I'm inclined to believe considering she doesn't know what Red Bull is and can't work a coffee machine, yet campaigns 18 hours a day. She's superhuman!