Clinton says early lead was ‘artificial’

Fallon pointed out that her first appearance was the night of the second Republican debate and her most recent appearance was the night of the ninth Republican debate. If he manages to win Iowa and New Hampshire, can he use the ensuing media coverage of him to hugely improve his margins among nonwhite voters? The setting may give Clinton a chance to confront Sanders on his past votes related to gun control.

Fallon suggested that she have a drinking game in which every time one of the Republican candidates says her name, she takes a shot.

“Working in Washington itself isn’t winning anybody friends this election cycle”, said Ben LaBolt, who worked on Obama’s two presidential campaigns. Clinton offered a forceful endorsement of President Barack Obama, casting herself as his natural heir. “I’d be digging my fingernails into my palm to keep myself awake”, she admits.

During the previous debate, attempts to hammer his position on gun rights failed to leave much of a dent in viewers’ minds: separate polls conducted by Slate and MSNBC revealed that their respective readers thought Sanders won December’s contest, and by wide margins.

“In an anti-establishment time”, Axelrod said, “you’re essentially branding yourself as the establishment candidate”. He tried to rekindle that spirit when encouraging people to actively caucus for Mrs. Clinton. However, he only decided Thursday to support Clinton rather than Vermont Sen.

Sanders aides say the decision is not a flip-flop, arguing that he backed the 2005 law because of provisions that require child safety locks on guns and ban armor-piercing ammunition. And people who said they were of another race supported Clinton over Sanders 59 percent to 30 percent.

The Clinton campaign cast the support as a reversal, with chairman John Podesta calling it a “debate-eve conversion” on Twitter.

Clinton touted her experience and assured Fallon she had references before getting serious in the mock interview.

The move comes after a Politico report saying the head of a super PAC that works in direct coordination with Hillary Clinton’s campaign will call on Sanders to release his medical records.

“This is not a flip flop”, said Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ campaign manager. He later added that the plan will be release “certainly before Iowa”. Daughter Chelsea Clinton has offered critical words about Sanders, leading to a back-and-forth over his health care plan. They appeared together at a Des Moines high school Saturday night before at least 500 people, encouraging people to caucus. This has led Clinton to lash out with negative attacks against Sanders.