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At Last Night's Las Vegas Debate, Sen. Clinton Continued Her Calculations On Key Issues

PARSING THE POLLS ON LICENSES FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS?

At Last Night's Debate, Hillary Said She Did Not Support Giving Driver's Licenses To Illegal Immigrants, Despite Endorsing The Plan Two Weeks Ago

CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "[D]o you support drivers licenses for illegal immigrants?" ... Hillary: "No." (Sen. Clinton, CNN Democrat Presidential Debate, Las Vegas, NV, 11/15/07)

Two Weeks Ago, Hillary Admitted The Proposal Made "A Lot Of Sense." Hillary: "You know, Tim, this is where everybody plays gotcha. It [Spitzer's plan] makes a lot of sense." (Sen. Clinton, MSNBC Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 10/30/07)

NOTE: In October, "Mrs. Clinton Did Not Commit To Passing Immigration Reform In Her First Term ..." (Christina Bellantoni, "Hillary Touts Bill To Unite Illegals' Kin," The Washington Times, 10/4/07)

THE "SO-CALLED" SOCIAL SECURITY CRISIS?

During Debate, Hillary Said We Have Long-Term Challenges With Social Security:

Hillary: "We have long-term challenges with Social Security. ... So what I want to do is move back toward fiscal responsibility." (Sen. Clinton, CNN Democrat Presidential Debate, Las Vegas, NV, 11/15/07)

But Social Security Hasn't Been A Priority For Hillary, And Her Plan To Preserve It Is Unclear At Best:

Hillary: "Social Security is a problem, but it's not in my top five ..." (Thomas M. DeFrank, "Party Gotta Fight Back, Sez Hillary," [New York] Daily News, 4/12/05)

• Hillary: "The so-called 'crisis' in Social Security does not exist." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Remarks At Brandeis University's Rabb Seminar, 1/23/05)

The Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore: "Hillary Clinton's Plan To Rescue Social Security From Financial Disaster Is As Clear As Mud." (Stephen Moore, Op-Ed, "Hillary's Entitlement Bailout Tax?" Opinion Journal's "Political Diary," 9/7/07)

The Washington Post: "The Candidate Has No Plan To Fix Social Security." (Editorial, "Sen. Clinton's Empty Table," The Washington Post, 10/1/07)

PROTECTING HER LEFT FLANK ON IRAN

Hillary Continues To Attempt To Take Multiple Positions On Dealing With Iran:

Hillary Voted In Favor Of Legislation Designating Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps A Foreign Terrorist Organization. (S. Amdt. 3017 To H.R. 1585, CQ Vote #349: Adopted 76-22: R 46-2; D 29-19; I 1-1, 9/26/07, Hillary Voted Yea)

• Hillary: "My understanding of the revolutionary guard in Iran is that it is promoting terrorism. ... [I]n what we voted for today, we will have an opportunity to designate it as a terrorist organization, which gives us the options to be able to impose sanctions on the primary leaders to try to begin to put some teeth into all this talk about dealing with Iran." (Sen. Clinton, MSNBC Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Hanover, NH, 9/26/07)

Hillary Was Criticized For Her Vote By Fellow Democrat Presidential Candidates And The Anti-War Left. "[Hillary's] vote on the Revolutionary Guard measure...has given scholars and bloggers in the antiwar netroots fodder; labeling the Iranian Army a terrorist organization, they say, gives Bush the excuse he needs to attack." (Howard Fineman, "Fineman: Democrats Divided Over Iran Policy," Newsweek, 10/15/07)

• "Among The 3.3 Million Members Of Moveon.Org, Iran Last Week Replaced Iraq As The Top Issue, Says Its President, Eli Pariser. Win Without War, The Leading Iraq Antiwar Coalition, Is Planning To Shift Focus To Iran." (Howard Fineman, "Fineman: Democrats Divided Over Iran Policy," Newsweek, 10/15/07)

Hillary Responded To The Criticism By Co-Sponsoring Sen. Jim Webb's (D-VA) Legislation To Prevent The Use Of Force Against Iran Without Congressional Approval. "Clinton also...announced she would co-sponsor a bill by Sen. Jim Webb, D-VA., which would prohibit the use of funds for military operations against Iran without explicit congressional authorization." (Carla Marinucci, "Clinton Talks Of Urban Agenda In Oakland Visit," San Francisco Chronicle, 10/2/07