Sen. Hillary Clinton an artful dodger

Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted in March of lying to investigators and obstructing Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's inquiry into the 2003 leak of a CIA operative's identity. A federal judge said last week he will not delay a 2 1/2-year prison sentence for Libby in the case.

Most conservatives want President Bush to pardon Libby. Most Democratic activists don't.

Indeed, Clinton's rivals for the Democratic nomination didn't hesitate to simply reply "no" when asked about a Libby pardon.

It was the same dynamic on trade. Shortly after Rep. Dennis Kucinich vowed to repeal the North American Free Trade Agreement, Clinton was asked if she would move to scuttle it.

She dodged. "Like anything," Clinton said, "NAFTA had some positives, but unfortunately had a lot of downsides."

Clinton can be specific when she want to be. In her non-answer on NAFTA, she identified a soon-to-be-closed car plant by the small Michigan town where it's located, and she talked in depth about the link between outsourced jobs and health care costs.

MSNBC video Clinton speaks to middle class June 19: Sen. Hillary Clinton addresses issues important to the middle class such as universal health care and the job market. MSNBC

Playing to the union crowd, Matthews asked Clinton whether she would nominate a union leader as secretary of the Labor Department. Yes or no? "It's a great idea," she said. "I think we should really consider that." It wasn't what you would call a firm commitment.

Some voters might find it refreshing that Clinton passed up three chances to pander to liberal Democrats. Being against Libby, opposed to NAFTA and in favor of giving unions a voice at the Labor Department are no-brainers in Democratic primary fights.

It may be that she's looking beyond the nomination.

"I kind of see those things as in keeping with her effort to paint herself as a more moderate Democrat than her image as first lady," Franklin said.

Until recently, Clinton distanced herself from the liberal, anti-war wing of the Democratic Party on Iraq _ a position that her advisers said was true to her convictions as well as smart general-election strategy. But, under pressure from activists who dominate primary and caucus voting, she has steadily edged to the left.

She told the crowd Tuesday that she had been calling for a troop withdrawal "for some time," not mentioning that her rivals have held that position for a longer period. On the other hand, she said some troops will need to remain in Iraq to contain al-Qaida, protect Kurds, keep an eye on Iran, protect the U.S. Embassy and maybe train Iraqi forces.

The answer offered a little something for everybody, for or against U.S. involvement in Iraq. Pretty slick.

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