海角大神

In 1999, when Hillary Clinton announced her first run for office 鈥� a campaign for US Senate 鈥� New Yorkers were skeptical.

She鈥檚 not one of us; she鈥檚 a carpet-bagger, they said. Born and raised in Illinois, educated in Massachusetts and Connecticut, then a transplant to Arkansas before taking up residence in the White House, Mrs. Clinton had no obvious connection to New York. But the then-first lady embarked on a 鈥渓istening tour鈥� and never looked back.

鈥淪he became the local girl,鈥� says pollster John Zogby, based in Utica, N.Y. 鈥淪he did town meetings, she did the famous listening tour, and she impressed people with the fact that she actually listened. She would stay till the last person left.鈥�

And she won, making history as the first wife of a president to run for (and win) public office. Six years later, Clinton easily won reelection.

Winning the presidency is many orders of magnitude more difficult than winning a Senate seat. Performing for the cameras is crucial, and that鈥檚 not Clinton鈥檚 strength. She has said as much, admitting that she鈥檚 not a 鈥渘atural politician鈥� like her husband or President Obama.聽

But Clinton may have found a way around that. In her big speech Thursday in San Diego 鈥� ostensibly on foreign policy, but really, a takedown of Donald Trump 鈥� the former secretary of State showed that she can deliver a sharp message without descending into Trumpian petulance and name-calling.

Clinton called Mr. Trump 鈥渢hin-skinned,鈥� his ideas 鈥渄angerously incoherent.鈥� And she did so in a tone that was sober and serious. At times, audience members laughed 鈥� such as when she said that 鈥渢here is no risk of people losing their lives if you blow up a golf course deal鈥� 鈥� but she never laughed along with them. At most, she offered a knowing smile.

But Clinton made her point 鈥� that she鈥檚 ready to do battle with the most unorthodox of general election opponents in modern history.

鈥淪he has fully realized that she has to get into the trenches,鈥� says Mr. Zogby. 鈥淪he鈥檚 had to become a street fighter.鈥�

Going forward, Clinton鈥檚 biggest challenge in going up against Trump is to maintain her focus on the issues that she wants to talk about.

鈥淭he point is, you can鈥檛 beat him at his own game 鈥� of invective and innuendo and slander,鈥� says Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. 鈥淵ou have to point to it, you have to decry it, you have to describe it as a prohibition on real discussion of real issues, then get back to those issues and talk about them in your own terms.鈥�

The reality, though, Mr. Jillson acknowledges, is that Trump is going to cry 鈥淐rooked Hillary鈥� at every opportunity 鈥� and that there鈥檚 a running narrative about Clinton that gives him plenty of fodder. There鈥檚 Clinton鈥檚 use of a private e-mail server while secretary of State. There鈥檚 her handling of the 2012 attack on the United States mission in Benghazi, Libya. There鈥檚 the family foundation and allegations that it traded 鈥渄irty money鈥� for access. There are all the old controversies from her husband鈥檚 presidency.

Clinton can鈥檛 just ignore Trump鈥檚 charges of 鈥渃rookedness,鈥� says Jillson, especially when the relevant issues make headlines. Last week, for example, the State Department inspector general released an 83-page report highly critical of her e-mail practices during her time as secretary of State. Sometime in the next few weeks or months, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is expected to complete its own investigation into the e-mails. Whatever comes of that will be a major milestone in the campaign.

So the challenge for Clinton will be to balance responding to Trump without allowing the campaign to proceed entirely on Trump鈥檚 terms.

The perceived wisdom is that Trump is an unconventional candidate, and that the American people are in a wholly different place from where they usually are 鈥� and therefore the usual Democrat versus Republican playbook won鈥檛 work. But some Democrats believe that argument is overstated.

鈥淲hen you come down to it, we鈥檙e electing a president here,鈥� says Democratic strategist Peter Fenn. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 鈥楥elebrity Apprentice.鈥� I guess I have a fundamental faith that the American people are going to be able to sort this out.鈥�

Mr. Fenn offers a bottom line: Practically every campaign is about change or fear of change, and while Trump is presenting himself as a change agent, it鈥檚 not entirely clear what he means by that. So Clinton鈥檚 argument, he says, is 鈥渉old on a minute, what are we really going to get with Trump?鈥�

That was the point of Clinton鈥檚 speech Thursday 鈥� not to unveil any new foreign policy ideas or spend much time defending her four years as secretary of State, but to invite Americans to imagine a Trump presidency. She raised the specter of a trade war with China, and questioned Trump鈥檚 expressions of admiration for 鈥渄ictators鈥� like Russian President Vladimir Putin.

鈥淭his is not someone who should ever have the nuclear codes, because it鈥檚 not hard to imagine Donald Trump leading us into a war just because somebody got under his very thin skin,鈥� she said.

Clinton鈥檚 speech won praise from Democrats, because she showed that she was willing to stand up to Trump 鈥� but didn鈥檛 try to play his game. She didn鈥檛 dub him 鈥淒angerous Donald,鈥� even if she implied it. Clinton鈥檚 new game is to play street fighter, in her own way.