No Pregnant Pause, But No Good Answer

With the release of another 3 a.m. spot from Team Clinton, her spokesmen were asked on today's call with reporters about how their candidate is prepared for a middle-of-the-night economic crisis.

Howard Wolfson -- wise to the perils of pausing -- this time stammered out a long but not-so-on-point response, which eventually wound to the nugget he could've (should've?) offered up when questioned weeks ago about the initial 3 a.m. ad. (That first ad, as you'll recall, asserted that only HRC could handle a 3 a.m. national security crisis.) And yes, indeedy, by the time Wolfson finished this latest answer, I knit myself that sweater.

(Ok, if you Truth Squaded my knitting ability, you'd discover I can only make scarves ... )

Here's Wolfson: "I do not believe unless you are president that you can create an exact analgous moment, and what you look for in a candidate for president is somebody with a lifetime of experience who can bring all of that experience, all of that knowledge, all that expertise to bring when confronted with difficult problems and situations in office. And so it's a very fair question, but I think the answer is much broader than you're suggesting. It is about a real lifetime of experience. But having said that, I would look at her record to ensure the New York got the resources it needed after 9/11. Making sure with her colleagues, Chuck Schumer, and others in the New York delegation and in New York that New York City got the resources it needed by this administration that was originaly, might have been originally less than forthcoming to ensure that it got back on it's feet. It was not clear what the future of downtown New York would be after 9/11. It was not clear what the future of Wall Street would be after 9/11. And there is much, much, much credit to go around in the rebuilding of lower Manhattan. But Sen. Clinton certainly did her part, working with her colleagues, to help ensure that New York got back on its feet. And that was obviously a moment where there was significant need. There was not an enormous amount of time available to help ensure the stability of downtown. And Sen. Clinton certainly deserves credit for working with others to ensure that assistance was given and stability restored."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)