Update 2:26pm Eastern. Hillary decries the pile-on. Well, a great big Halloween Boo-Freaking Hoo, Mrs. Front-runner.

Update 11:45am Eastern. The Hillary spin machine sputters.

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Hillary cruised through most of last night’s debate–until she was pressed on NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s illegal alien driver’s license plan. Ooh boy, I bet she was cursing Spitzer to high heaven. If not for that dunder-headed, back-firing New York state pander to the open-borders lobby, she would not likely have been pressed on this issue. She would have never stumbled. The cool-as-a-cucumber mask would have never slipped off.

Watch it. It’s gold.

Gotta give kudos to Tim Russert (and Brian Williams, for that matter). They made this debate worthwhile (and that includes the UFO question).

Now, it would behoove the GOP to put up a nominee who can exploit Hillary’s weakness from a position of strength.

Unfortunately, as we have seen , some Republicans candidates have no legs to stand on–and last-minute conversions will leave them weak, vulnerable, and as unpersuasive as the Big H herself.

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Here’s how the NYTimes described the exchange:

Mr. Obama and Mr. Edwards came into the debate seeking to raise questions about Mrs. Clinton’s credibility — and, as a result, renew doubts about her electability. Mrs. Clinton may have helped them with her unsteady answer about whether she supported the initiative by Mr. Spitzer.

“Do I think this is the best thing for any governor to do?” she said. “No. But do I understand the sense of real desperation, trying to get a handle on this? Remember, in New York we want to know who’s in New York. We want people to come out of the shadows. He’s making an honest effort to do it. We should have passed immigration reform.”

She was challenged on what she said first by Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and then by Mr. Edwards. “Unless I missed something, Senator Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes just a few minutes ago, and I think this is a real issue for the country,” Mr. Edwards said.

The NYPost’s Charles Hurt said it better:

She tied herself up in knots – in a way her opponents couldn’t – with her non-answer about whether she favors giving driver’s license to illegal aliens.

She must be the only New Yorker without an opinion on the plan (other than her colleague, Sen. Chuck Schumer).

Her evasiveness on the most talked-about issue in the state reminded everyone of the worst of husband Bill and what could be in store if another Clinton makes it to the White House.

Ed Morrissey: “This was a disastrous answer from Hillary. She can expect to live with this YouTube for the next year.”