Hillary is in damage control mode.
Left with little choice, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz caved Sunday and agreed to sanction more presidential debates, attempting to play catch-up with the candidates who were already well ahead of them.
The three top candidates — former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernard Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley — have all agreed in principle to hold a debate this upcoming week, after Iowa’s caucuses but ahead of the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary.
Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Sanders, the front-runners who are driving the conversation, have also agreed to more debates in March, April and even possibly in May, signaling a belief that the campaign could go longer than party leaders anticipated, with Mr. Sanders putting up a stiffer challenge to Mrs. Clinton than imagined.
Mrs. Wasserman Schultz, who had set the schedule of just six debates and had repeatedly shot down calls to reconsider, said in a statement Sunday that she now realizes there will have to be more debates than she’d wanted.
“Our Democratic candidates have agreed in principle to having the DNC sanction and manage additional debates in our primary schedule, inclusive of New Hampshire this week,” she said.
She said final details will be worked out on Tuesday, after the Iowa caucus results are known.