Debate Strategy: Why Hillary Should Not Play The "Crooked Donald" Card

originally posted by: Jonjonj

I think a summary of your very well presented case can be expressed in an analogy: People in glass houses should not throw stones.

Is that the gist of the thread?

You could say that, but that's not really it. It's more along the lines of strategy in a military battle. One could say that Trump's house has more windows in it and that Hillary's house has fewer (financial/crooked) windows but they are within easy range and make easy targets. (Always remembering that Bill Clinton is not running for President, so his record is hors de combat, or outside the fight.) Trump's windows are very numerous but very often not "line of sight" shots. This is why I think Trump will throw stones at her glass house from his own glass house.

The aphorism you cite is applicable. It's a cliché and clichés are clichés for a reason, but this thread is intended more as pragmatic strategy in a specific case. In the heat of battle people can abandon a tried and true cliché, so I wanted to think specifically of these people and this campaign and this debate to make it clear why a certain way of attacking should be avoided by Mrs. Clinton.

In a battle of attrition, one could throw stones at glass houses, as long as one were confident that one's enemy presented more targets. A debate, though, is a skirmish, not a battle of attrition, so even though there are a lot of windows to target, there is not enough time for that strategy to produce a victory for Mrs. Clinton, although it might be a point getter, and perhaps more, for Mr. Trump.

Throwing stones at one's enemy's glass house while sitting in your own is not always a bad strategy, as for the lucky Mr. Trump in this case, but for Mrs. Clinton, it definitely is a bad strategy.