The post-debate spin seems to be that Hillary had a pretty rough night. Early in the debate I noted her unflappability and her refusal to ever flub a debate question. But I admit it got a lot rougher toward the end, perhaps especially on the immigration question. Frontrunners can and usually do get away without giving many specifics. That's just how campaigns work. The other contenders can and should try to hammer on that and force her to show her hand on key issues. But let's not kid ourselves about the fact that this is hardly unique or new to Hillary.

That said, she does seem to be taking it to an almost absurd length. To me, the illegal immigrant driver's license exchange was less interesting because of her evasion than because of the dual personality she's brought to the debate. Most frontrunners dodge tough questions or give politically safe answers. But Hillary also wanted to have a serious-minded conversation about the question, noting the public safety rationales behind the very unpopular policy of giving driver's licenses to illegals. She actually grappled with the issue and pointed to the apparent necessity of the policy. But as soon as it came to 'endorsing', which here meant embracing the logical extension of everything she just said, she pulled back.

It's almost as if her background as a serious policy person is coming back to bite her. She can't restrain herself from injecting actual policy discussions into her public presentation as an annoying teflon frontrunner.