It's Time for Democrats to Chill the Fuck Out About Hillary Clinton

Back in 2008, when Hillary Clinton was running her first presidential campaign, a debate moderator famously asked her to explain why voters just didn't seem to like her. In the seven years since, the question—remarkable for its insidious sexism—has continued to dog Clinton, fueling doubts about her second White House bid and endless strategy sessions about how to make the former secretary of state seem more "relatable" to all Average Americans.

But when Clinton took the stage Tuesday night at the first Democratic primary debate of 2016, those concerns seemed to evaporate. For the first time in recent memory, Clinton was, in fact, likable. More than that, she seemed to have finally gained a self-awareness of what it means to be Hillary Clinton.

In what was one of her best moments of the night, Clinton was asked which of her political enemies she is most proud of. She ticked off a laundry list that included health insurance companies, drug companies, the Iranians, and the NRA, closing it out with "the Republicans." It was a sly elbow-nudge to her base, but also a reminder: This is a woman who has a whole list of enemies—one who has orbited political scandal for most of her adult life, alternately reviled and pitied by segments of the American public.

On Tuesday night at least, Clinton seemed pretty OK with that, owning her scandals and denouncing her enemies in ways that seemed almost, well, presidential. After months of trying to make herself seem "relatable" by frying steaks like some Midwestern room mom, Clinton revealed her most authentic self when she was acting like—surprise—her authentic self: A former senator and diplomat running to be the first female president of the United States. She laughed! She smiled! She even made a joke about how long it takes her to pee.

The big moment of the night came when moderator Anderson Cooper finally asked Clinton about the email scandal—that annoying public records issue that has spawned an FBI investigation into the personal email server Clinton used while serving as Obama's secretary of state. Clinton didn't dance around the issue Tuesday, admitting briefly that she'd made a mistake, before launching into an invective against House Republican investigations designed to kamikaze her 2016 presidential campaign. Then she smiled. "I am still standing," she told the crowd, to roars of applause. "I am happy to be part of this debate."

Her rival, Bernie Sanders, then chimed in: "The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!" Clinton glowed and laughed, thanking him with a quick hug. "Me too! Me too! Thank you, Bernie!" The crowd went nuts.

And Clinton was on the attack, too, slamming Sanders just minutes earlier over his record on gun control, and dismissing Lincoln Chafee's criticism on her Iraq War vote with a biting, "Yeah, but who was appointed Secretary of State by a person who made the same argument?" Asked later if she wanted to respond to Chafee's comments about her email scandal, Clinton replied with a curt: "No." When former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley tried to come after her, she casually thanked him for supporting her 2008 campaign.

She even managed to turn questions about her spotty progressive record into something of an advantage. Asked whether she considered herself a moderate or a progressive, Clinton answered: "I'm a progressive who likes to get things done." When Sanders made the case for upending "casino capitalism," Clinton chided him as naive. The message was clear: Experience trumps ideology, if you actually want to get anything done.

That's not to say Clinton didn't stumble. Tuesday's debate underscored long-term issues that still lie ahead for Hillary's campaign, as Democratic activists continue to push the party further to the left. Clinton's remarks about banks, for example, seemed feeble compared to Sanders' righteous vitriol, and her comment that she "never took a position on Keystone until I took a position on Keystone," will be bouncing around the Iowa airwaves until next November. She also didn't manage to diffuse the threat from Sanders, who came away from Tuesday's as the overwhelming favorite of millennial focus groups and internet polls.

Still, for the thousandth time, Clinton's likability was put on display for America to judge—and instead of Robot Hillary, Democrats got a clear-eyed candidate and the only viable option for the Democratic nomination in 2016. She maneuvered as she should: like she had been there many times before.

Follow John Surico on Twitter.