But Hassan, always eager to avoid actually making news, “hewed relentlessly to talking points and political bromides.”
Hassan’s conduct in this interview is nothing new. Time and time again we’ve seen Maggie Hassan avoid leading on important issues and consistently calculating the political fallout of her decisions, much like her Presidential candidate of choice, Hillary Clinton.
Perhaps the most telling characterization of Hassan’s lack of leadership came in this description, which noted, “She refused to touch any question that veered toward even remotely treacherous territory…”
Read more from Hassan’s calculated and scripted interview, here:
New Hampshire’s other smackdown
POLITICO | Burgess Everett
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But Hassan also hewed relentlessly to talking points and political bromides about a Washington that’s "rigged" against the people.
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She repeated some variation of that 10 times. The strategy, of course, denies her opponents fodder for attacks. But it opens Hassan to criticism that she’s running a generic campaign and is looking to ride Hillary Clinton’s coattails to Capitol Hill.
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Hassan’s game plan for knocking off Ayotte came into focus as she refused to touch any question that veered toward even remotely treacherous territory, such as Obama’s executive actions or Bernie Sanders’ rise in New Hampshire despite Hassan’s endorsement for Hillary Clinton.
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Asked three different ways about her controversial veto last year of the state budget over business taxes, a move that had critics calling her "Governor Gridlock," Hassan stuck painstakingly to her script.
"What’s really important to me is that we have fiscally responsible balanced budgets," she said.
As if on cue, she repeated nearly the exact same answer to two follow-up questions.