Keller @ Large: What Hillary Clinton Should Do
BOSTON (CBS) - We've heard from the president, the first lady, the vice-presidential nominee, and a cast of thousands. We've even heard a ringing testimonial from her husband.
But tonight, it's Hillary Clinton's turn to do what none of the others can do for her as effectively - explain to skeptical voters why she's a good choice for president, or at least a better choice than the alternatives.
By now, it's obvious that the Clinton campaign is profoundly risk-averse, shunning press conferences, hedging policy positions, trying to avoid headlines rather than make them. Perhaps in another election cycle, that might make perfect sense. And when a risk-averse candidate contemplates record-high levels of public distrust, they pretend it's not happening rather than confront it head-on.
But in case you hadn't noticed, Donald Trump has rewritten the rules this time around. On Wednesday, he stepped all over the news coverage of Clinton's nomination night with reckless comments about Russian hacking. And while Trump's trust numbers are also awful, it isn't stopping him from grabbing the lead.
Hillary Clinton will never morph into a Trump-style candidate. But it might make sense to roll the dice a little tonight by making some headlines that might trump Trump. She could predict that Trump would plunge us into war. Or she could directly address some of the doubts people have about her, and plead for a second chance.
What Clinton cannot do is deliver her standard stump speech tonight and expect it to change a campaign dynamic that for now doesn't seem to be favoring her.
Tune in to WBZ-TV News at 11 p.m. and I'll tell you if she rose to that challenge.
