CLINTON RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK, TRUMP REBRANDING. CLINTON ATTACKING.

As Hillary Clinton's not-so-great week of e-mail-cum-Clinton Foundation woes marches on, don't expect Clinton to do any sit-down interviews or press conferences to clarify or calm.  Clinton campaign manager Robbie Mook told Morning Joe that his boss is out there answering questions and will "continue to do that." It's all part of what some are calling the Democratic nominee's  run-out-the-clock strategy. 




Then there are Donald Trump's latest rebranding efforts. On Tuesday The Republican nominee continued to try to clarify his 'TBD' deportation policy. At a Fox News-hosted town hall event in Texas, Trump said “there certainly can be a softening" of existing laws for law-abiding immigrants, because "we're not looking to hurt people." His explanation of a new Obama-like plan comes as the nominee tries to move past the stigma of having a supporter base that's largely perceived as racist.  He didn’t indicate openness to considering legal status for those people, however, and reiterated that he intends to follow the law, which requires removing them from the country." He also remained vague as to whether he would actively seek to deport them.

And then on Thursday, after stoutly denying for days that anything untoward had taken place at the State Department, the Clinton campaign went on the offensive on Thursday. Having been slated to make a speech in Reno, Nevada, about encouraging small businesses, Clinton changed the subject to Trump, and delivered a blistering attack in which she accused him of “taking hate groups mainstream” and “helping a radical fringe take over the Republican Party.” At a moment when Trump appeared to be trying to soften his image, Clinton highlighted some of his incendiary comments, reminded people he has retweeted messages from white supremacists, and pointed to the fact that he now has Steve Bannon, the head of Breitbart News, a radical right-wing news site, helping to run his campaign. It was a powerful speech, well worth reading in its entirety, and much of what it contained could not be contradicted.  The Democrats’ strongest card in this election, which they hammered home at their Convention, is that Trump isn’t fit to be the President. Nothing that has happened over the past week has changed that perception.