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CNN Poll: Clinton Opens Huge Lead in Nevada, South Carolina; Stage Set for First Democratic Debate; Podliska Fired After 10 Months as Committee Investigator; Iranian TV: Court Convicts Journalist Jason Rezaian; Turkey P.M. Says ISIS is Focus of Investigation. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired October 12, 2015 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

You're watching NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

[05:58:36] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: That shot there in Vegas. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, October 12, 6 a.m. in the East. It is 3 a.m. where John Berman is. He joins us from Las Vegas. And that's where we begin with the final countdown to the first Democratic debate, hosted tomorrow by CNN and Facebook.

On the eve of this debate, there are two new CNN/ORC polls. And they show Hillary Clinton widening her lead quite substantially.

Michaela, these -- this is some of the biggest leads that we've seen in any polls since this entire race began. The former secretary of state has a 16-point cushion over Bernie Sanders. Now we should mention, this is in Nevada. OK? So if Joe Biden does not run, her lead widens to 22 points. What's so interesting, Michaela, is that this is so different than what the polls look like in New Hampshire.

MICHAEL PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: A vastly different picture. That's right.

In South Carolina, meanwhile, Clinton tops Biden by 25 points and Sanders by 31 points. Without Biden, Clinton's margin over Sanders expands to 50 points.

Let's head to Las Vegas early this morning, which I guess is kind of the middle of the night in Las Vegas for John. Ahead of the Democratic debate. Preps are ongoing there.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's 3 a.m. here in Las Vegas. Things are just getting started here right now. You guys did a great job setting the stage for the big stage behind me at the Wynn Las Vegas. Here on the strip, the CNN debate is the biggest show in town. So take that, Britney Spears.

The candidates now making their final preparations for this high- stakes showdown, as are we. Let's go inside the ball room, inside the debate hall and bring in CNN's Jim Acosta, who has been working all night, putting up the chairs, setting up the lecterns.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: All night. That's right. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it, John. You're right.

Debate stages, they don't set up themselves. And we've had CNN crews literally working around the clock over the last 48 hours, because we are one day and counting now to the CNN debate, the first Democratic debate of this presidential season in here.

On stage, you have the five podiums behind me. The central podium, of course, for Hillary Clinton. She's the obvious frontrunner. To her right will be Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who really has been giving her a run for her money. He's been doing well in the polls in places like New Hampshire. It's somebody she's going to have to worry about for the foreseeable future.

And the other candidates, of course, will also take the stage. Former Maryland governor, Martin O'Malley; the former Rhode Island governor, Lincoln Chafee; and the former Virginia senator, Jim Webb.

Now, the "X" factor, obviously, in all of this is Joe Biden. The vice president is said to have been up in Delaware over the weekend, trying to determine whether or not he wants to run for president. No decisions have been made, according to his spokespeople. But he is certainly a presence that could be felt here on Tuesday night, should he decide to join this debate. The rules are written as such, where he could do that. And Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the DNC chair, said on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday that, if he decides to fly into Las Vegas on Air Force Two at the last minute, he will be more than welcome. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ, DNC CHAIR: You know that he has been carefully considering whether he wants to run for president of the United States and, of course, in the Democratic primary. we would always have room and welcome the sitting vice president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, just to run down where things stand right now in the latest polls, we have new polling from CNN/ORC in terms of where the race stands at this point.

And the first poll we want to show you, which candidate has the best chance to win? There's Hillary Clinton, way out in front right now. It's her race to lose, 59 percent for Hillary Clinton, 18 percent for Joe Biden. That's if he gets into the race. And 17 percent for Bernie Sanders.

Now, who have you decided to support at this point? Have you decided on somebody to support? That's the other key number that we're showing this morning. And look at this: decided to support definitely, 30 percent; still deciding, 58 percent. So that leaves a lot of leeway for these candidates onstage. Might give an opportunity to somebody like Martin O'Malley, who's going to be looking for a make-or-break moment on Tuesday night.

But just to show you how we really just prepped everything here for the CNN debate, just in case Vice President Biden decides to show us [SIC], let's show you one thing that perhaps you haven't seen yet in our coverage of this debate. There it is, the extra podium.

PEREIRA: Podium.

ACOSTA: Just in case Vice President Biden decides to show up. Here it is. It's been waiting in the wings. Just in case Air Force Two flies into Las Vegas right at the last minute, and the motorcade speeds over here to the Wynn Hotel, he'll have a podium.

PEREIRA: I'm sure they'll have a space at McCarron Airport. It's nice to know they've got a podium. And hopefully, it will be adjusted for his height. I love that.

CAMEROTA: Looks miniature.

PEREIRA: I know. It looks a little small from this angle. All right. Jim Acosta, thank you so much.

ACOSTA: It will be fully prepped. That's right.

PEREIRA: One of the topics that we know that will likely be a hot topic tomorrow during the debate is Benghazi.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, a former investigator for the House Benghazi committee accused the Republican-led panel of what amounts to a partisan witch hunt, going out of its way to focus on former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

Brad Podliska spoke to CNN's Jake Tapper. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: In your view, your insider view, did the House majority staff on the House Benghazi committee use this committee for political gain?

BRAD PODLISKA, FORMER BENGHAZI COMMISSION INVESTIGATOR: I would state that this has become a partisan investigation. I do not know the reason for that. I do not know the reason for the hyper focus on Hillary Clinton.

TAPPER: Republicans are going to listen to you and think this is some liberal trying to get Hillary Clinton off the hook. Liberals are going to hear you and say, "Look, see, he's exonerating Hillary Clinton. This committee is all political, and Hillary has nothing to explain." What's your message to these partisans?

PODLISKA: Hillary Clinton has a lot of explaining to do. We, however, do not need to shift resources to hyper focus on Hillary Clinton. We didn't need to de-emphasize, or in some cases drop the investigation on different agencies, different organizations and different individuals. TAPPER: Do you think that the results of the committee, based on

what you saw, will be fair, comprehensive, thorough, professional, honest?

PODLISKA: No, it's not possible. The victims' families are not going to get the truth, and that's the most unfortunate thing about this. And I know this because the nine months of research I had done is now lost. I have no idea where it is. And I know that I could get those victims' families an explanation, a pretty thorough explanation of why they were told that this attack was due to a video.

[06:05:19] TAPPER: Why are you coming forward?

PODLISKA: I'm going to be honest with you, Jake. I'm scared. I'm nervous. I know that this is, you know -- I'm going up against powerful people in Washington. But at the end of the day, I need to live with myself.

TAPPER: What do you say to any viewers out there who think that you might have an ax to grind, that you're only talking because you were fired?

PODLISKA: As I said earlier, I have a conscience. There's wrongdoing here, and I think it needs to stop. And I do not want the investigation to end. I want the investigation to be refocused back to its original purpose. The victims' families are owed the truth. As it stands now, they're not going to get the truth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: The House committee denies the allegations made by Podliska. And in this statement, committee chairman Trey Gowdy says, "Because I do not know him and do not recall ever speaking to him, I can say for certain he was never instructed by me to focus on Clinton, nor would he be a credible person to speak on my behalf. I'm equally confident his supervisor, General Chipman, did not direct him to focus on Clinton."

CAMEROTA: All right. We have a lot to talk about now.

Here to break down what to watch ahead of tomorrow's CNN debate, CNN national political reporter Maeve Reston; CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny; and CNN senior political analyst and editorial director of "the National Journal" Ron Brownstein. Great to have all of you with us this morning.

Let's just start with the hot-off-the-presses poll numbers. These came out six minutes ago. So let's look -- let's start in Nevada.

Jeff, I'll start with you. Let's look at these numbers. These are Democrats' choices for who they would like to vote for. And the numbers for Clinton are impressive. She gets 50 percent of those Democrats in Nevada. Sanders gets 34 percent. Biden, if he chooses to get in, 12 percent. What do you see here in these numbers? JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: There's no

question that Hillary Clinton is doing very well in Nevada. We don't talk about Nevada a lot, but it is an important, important state. It comes directly after New Hampshire. In this series of first for voting states. So right now she's doing very well.

If Joe Biden decides to stay out, she does even better. She goes up to 70 percent. I'm sorry, she goes up to 58 percent; and Bernie Sanders is at 36 percent.

So look, she's definitely in command of this race. And the Nevada electorate is very interesting. Hispanic voters, of course, very important. And it's also a key battleground in the general election here. So Nevada is an important state for her. And so far, she's doing very well.

CAMEROTA: John, you want to take the next one?

BERMAN: ... organizing state. Yes, I mean, it's also a key organizing state. People here in Nevada effectively say that Hillary Clinton is here, and she is organizing. No one else is just yet. So that's one reason she's doing so well.

Look, we're standing in front of the Wynn Las Vegas, where that debate hall, the chairs are being set up right now. Hillary Clinton, you can see her lead in Nevada. You can see it in South Carolina and nationally, as well.

Maeve, what do you think she needs to do in here? Because she is the front-runner. You want to maintain that air of authority, but you don't -- you don't want to seem like you're not acknowledging the existence of those other people on the stage.

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been fascinating, watching her over the last couple of weeks, creating all of this distance with President Obama on various positions, coming out the way that she did on trade so that she doesn't have to get up there on the debate stage and be in a weaker position than Bernie Sanders on that score.

So, I mean, she does finally seem to be moving the conversation onto the actual issues beyond her e-mails a little bit. And -- but she really has to get up there and show people, obviously, that she's trustworthy, that she's not -- you know, the sense among voters that you talk to, just the political animal that's been, you know, shifting positions. And then she's got to show some fire and passion and really get people excited again. That's not what you're seeing on the ground.

BERMAN: In these new polls, we have some numbers on being honest and trustworthy if we can put those up right now in Nevada and in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton versus Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. We ask voters who do you think is the most honest and trustworthy? And, you know, among Democratic voters, Ron, she does fine.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. BERMAN: Sanders edging her out just a little bit in Nevada. But

she's up in front, being honest and trustworthy. In South Carolina, some of the Democratic electorate, that's not her biggest problem.

BROWNSTEIN: No.

BERMAN: We talk about Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, the possibility of Joe Biden. But is it really Hillary Clinton against Hillary Clinton?

BROWNSTEIN: I believe it is Hillary Clinton against Hillary Clinton fundamentally in the debate and in the race, at least at this point. I mean, these two polls this morning are a reality check. Iowa and New Hampshire are anomalous in the Democratic primary sequence. They're both 59 percent white states.

One-third of all Democratic primary voters in 2008, the last time we had a competitive race between President Obama and Hillary Clinton, were minority voters. And today, Hillary Clinton is dominant among those voters. You see the numbers in South Carolina among Hispanics in South Carolina among African-Americans.

[06:10:07] So she is in a very strong -- until Bernie Sanders proves that he can crack into that minority support and/or Joe Biden comes in and potentially fractures that minority support. It is very difficult to see how anybody gets past her on their own terms.

The issue really is not so much do a majority of Democrats prefer Bernie Sanders to Hillary Clinton. It's whether a majority of Democrats conclude that Hillary Clinton is or is not a strong, viable, general election candidate, given all the incoming she's taken over the next several weeks, I think.

CAMEROTA: Hey, Jeff, let's move on to the Benghazi issue and everything that came out with the former investigator for the House select committee, saying that he does believe that this is now a partisan job, and that they have focused on Hillary Clinton to the exclusion of other people and other agencies that may have been responsible for what happened in Benghazi. What's been the reaction in Washington, D.C., to this former investigator coming forward?

ZELENY: Well, Alisyn, it was a bit of a bombshell. The committee, this Benghazi committee has been working for about a year and a half on this. And working largely in private, but the focus has shifted over this time, as we know, to this private e-mail server.

I think it's a reminder of what is actually at stake here, what the actual original issues were in this committee. And this individual, who is speaking to -- with Jake Tapper this morning -- on Sunday, but we played this morning, he's a very key person. But Republicans are trying to discredit him.

Republicans are saying that, look, we don't know who this is. But the reality is, this has questioned now the credibility of the committee; and she, of course, is going to appear before this committee on October 22, just next week, finally, to testify before them. But there's no question that there are so many questions and skepticism hanging over this committee. I think it's pretty clear that it needs to end pretty quickly here. It's been going on so, so long.

BERMAN: Do you expect any of the other candidates may have to bring up Benghazi? I mean, Bernie Sanders was asked on the Sunday shows, will you talk about Benghazi? Will you talk about e-mails? Essentially, his answer was no, no and no.

RESTON: Right. I mean, that's an issue that's working for the Republicans. But it's certainly not something the other candidates want to be talking about. Except to the point that, you know, O'Malley and others would like her to look like a weak and vulnerable candidate. That works to their advantage.

But as we know, Bernie Sanders wants to talk about her Iraq war vote. He wants to talk about labor issues. The areas where he's really going to win against her with Democratic primary voters.

BROWNSTEIN: You know, this revelation coming out, and especially right after the Kevin McCarthy comments about, you know, the committee and diminishing her poll numbers, makes it tougher, even, for the Democratic rivals to bring it up, I think, in this context.

RESTON: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: Because it does kind of -- you know, it puts a more partisan lens through the whole thing. But the reality is that those issues are not going to completely go away. Even if the committee is discredited, the issues don't go away for the general election.

Her ability to answer those questions with the moderator may be one of the most important aspects of the debate.

CAMEROTA: All right, guys. Stick around. We want to talk to you a little later in the hour. But tomorrow night, we have a reminder for everyone. It is the big event. Watch the Democratic debate, hosted by CNN and Facebook. It starts at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.

PEREIRA: We have breaking news. Iranian TV reports that "Washington Post" journalist Jason Rezaian has been convicted by an Iranian court. Rezaian was arrested in 2014 on vague charges of spying.

CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen is live in London with all the breaking details. What do we know, Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Michaela. And vague certainly is the operative word surrounding everything, as far as Jason Rezaian's case is concerned. This is the revolutionary court, and therefore, there really isn't very much in the way of transparency that would be there.

We do know that Jason Rezaian has been convicted. We don't know whether or not he's been sentenced. And if so, what exactly he's been sentenced to. Now we did find out that there was a ruling in this case yesterday, which was also announced on state TV.

Again, zero details, though, as to what exactly that ruling was, except that there is an appeals period of 20 days where this verdict can be appealed. It's also unclear, and this is something that really annoys a lot of people, it's unclear whether or not Jason Rezaian himself knows about this verdict and whether or not he knows what exactly the sentence is, as well.

So at this point in time, there really is very little in the way of any sort of information that we're getting. The White House also saying they don't know exactly what the details are. So does Jason's family. All of them, of course, are calling for more transparency in this case and saying that he is innocent and should be released immediately.

So very little in the way of details, but certainly, some very big developments that have been going on, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. And still so many questions. Thanks so much for that, Fred.

More breaking news to tell you about. Turkey investigating a pair of deadly explosions at a pro-Kurdish rally in Ankara.

[06:15:10] CNN's senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, is live in Ankara, Turkey, with the very latest. What do we know this morning?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, we're at one of the country's leading university campuses, where students were demonstrating just a short while ago, calling for peace and demanding accountability from the government, blaming these attacks on the government, at the very least for its inability to safeguard and protect the population.

Most classes here have been canceled, and the students say that they are on a strike for peace. Right now we are hearing from the prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, who has said that their main suspect in this is the terrorist organization ISIS. This attack carried out by two suicide bombers, ISIS not yet claiming responsibility.

But this really is a country struggling to come to terms with all that it has lost. Among the losses, students and others affiliated with this particular university. Everyone understandably incredibly emotional.

Turkey has been struggling with terrorism, the government says, both on the front with ISIS but also against the separatist group, the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, that had initially declared a ceasefire on Saturday, but the Turkish government said that it had launched multiple strikes against their various different locations. This country really in such turmoil at this stage, both on the emotional level, but great concerns about what it means for the nation's future stability -- Michaela. PEREIRA: Arwa, thanks so much for a look at the latest situation

there, Arwa.

Meanwhile, no letup to the Israeli-Palestinian unrest as the Israeli border police say they shot and killed a knife-wielding Palestinian who went on the attack, stabbing an Israeli officer in a flak jacket. That officer was not injured. Over the weekend, 10 Palestinians died in a surge of violence, including a 13-year-old boy who was killed.

CAMEROTA: Well, a defiant President Obama disputing claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin is challenging his leadership. President Obama spoke to CBS's "60 Minutes" about Russia's recent military action in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops in in order to prop up your only ally is leadership, then we've got a different definition of leadership.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Well, the president went on to address the broken Syrian rebel training program. He also warned that the situation in the war-torn country is volatile and complicated. It said there's no silver bullet to easily solve the conflict.

PEREIRA: First time "SNL" host Amy Schumer mocking what some call America's obsession with guns in a new unsettling parody video. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You like it?

AMY SCHUMER, COMEDIAN: I love it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guns are there. In little moments. And big ones. When things fall apart. Or it all comes together, they unite us. Comfort us. Bring us joy. And strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That mock PSA comes on, of course, the heels of the Oregon massacre. Schumer, for her part, vowed to push for more gun control after a deadly shooting during a screening -- a screening of her film, "Trainwreck," in July. You'll recall a few people were killed in that theater shooting. She's being very emotional about the issue.

CAMEROTA: She has. And she's stuck to her promise. I mean, everybody vows to do something after there's a horrible tragedy, and she has stuck to it. She's testified. She has banded together with her cousin, Chuck Schumer.

PEREIRA: I know. Chuck Schumer.

CAMEROTA: And -- and this just continues. And her medium is comedy.

PEREIRA: I feel like she's not going to take her foot off the accelerator, either.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

PEREIRA: All right. Shall we head back to Las Vegas, where you will be heading shortly?

CAMEROTA: We'll be seeing John later today. So John, give us the lay of the land.

BERMAN: We are all set up for you, Alisyn, 18 rooms ready for your arrival right now, counting down the hours until the critical Democratic debate right here on CNN.

How are these candidates going to approach each other on that stage? What will Bernie do? Bernie Sanders so far promises not to attack Hillary Clinton. Will he live up to that promise? We'll talk about the strategy. We'll talk about the prep. We'll talk about it all, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:23:43] BERMAN: This is Las Vegas, Nevada, the site of the very first Democratic presidential debate, the CNN/Facebook presidential debate. It is tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the very first time that all five Democratic candidates will face off on the same stage at the same time.

It is simply crucial for all of them to make it known that they are in this race for the long haul. Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner, four other candidates on that stage. The first among them, Bernie Sanders right now. Second in all the polls, leading in the state of New Hampshire. So what will Bernie Sanders do inside the Wynn Las Vegas?

Let's bring back our panel. CNN national political reporter Maeve Reston also joining us; CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny; and CNN senior political analyst and editorial director of the "National Journal," Ron Brownstein.

And Ron, Bernie Sanders did something quite interesting this weekend. He released on this weekend of all other weekends of the year, he released his Iraq war speech from 2002, pointing out that he was against the invasion of Iraq. Hillary Clinton was for the invasion of Iraq. Is this the type of contrast that we should and can expect to see on the debate stage?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I think that's where he's comfortable and where he wants to go on issues. That's probably his strongest single contrast. And the other one would be on the economic side, dealing with things. But the Democratic primary electorate has turned really sharply against the Iraq decision.

[06:25:14] As, you know, the country overall, Democrats have moved even -- even more. I think the challenge, though, for Bernie Sanders and for Martin O'Malley is that, in the end, it is hard to see, even if Democratic primary voters agree with them on some of these issues, that they can get over the top, past all -- all of her entrenched advantages, if they can't also raise doubts about her as a general election nominee.

You can win the race just on ideological compatibility. Ultimately, there has to be a practical of component here of can she carry the banner? And that is a place they don't yet seem to want to go. If they want to get past her, sooner or later they probably will have to.

CAMEROTA: Hey, Maeve, I want to ask you a question about Martin O'Malley. Remember a couple of years ago, say, like 2013, when he was seen as a real rising star in the Democratic Party? And why do you think he hasn't been able to get any traction thus far?

RESTON: I mean, he's probably the one presidential candidate who's actually losing name recognition as he runs, which is really remarkable.

He just has never caught fire. He's tried to take on Hillary Clinton in a more aggressive way, but I think that people just don't see him as fitting -- being presidential material at this point.

And when you have someone like Hillary Clinton who, especially here in places like Nevada, I mean, her ground game is just on already. And it's just very hard for people to see how he could ever be, you know, a strong -- a stronger nominee than she would be.

BERMAN: Jeff Zeleny, you've been reporting on Joe Biden for months now. We saw the picture of the lectern inside the hotel behind us right now, that empty lectern set up for Joe Biden, should he decide to show up. It's like setting the place for Elijah at Passover right now.

Jeff, what is your reporting telling you about the meetings, about the meals, about the consultations that happened at the Biden house this weekend?

ZELENY: John, he is still at his family house in Wilmington, Delaware, spending the weekend there and having a series of conversations with his family. This isn't just one group discussion where you sort of, you know, summon everyone into the dining room and decide, OK, now we're going to talk about possibly running for president.

This is something that's been on Joe Biden's mind for, oh, I don't know, maybe 40 years. So I'm told that the conversations are over. They're coming to an end. He basically -- he knows what he wants to do. He knows what his plans are. It could come perhaps at the end of this week.

I'm told a decision will not be announced before the debate. So we'll have to probably hold onto that podium. He could always surprise us. But I'm told the decision will not be announced until after the debate.

And look, friends who talked to him, who have talked to him in recent days, are still left with the impression that he's leaning toward running.

But this is such a personal family decision. We will not know the firm answer until he actually says it. There could be someone inside the family saying, "Look, we don't want you to do this" or, "Look, we do want you to do this." So it is very much a family decision.

But we are getting pretty much to the end of this. And the reason is this: by the end of October, by October 29 -- that is the first deadline of any state -- you have to send a letter to the Georgia Democratic Party. He would have to be on the ballot there. And Georgia will be a key Super Tuesday state. So that is why time is sort of running here. I believe we'll have a decision later this week.

CAMEROTA: Ron, let's talk about something that may come up, obviously, at the debate. That's Hillary Clinton's e-mails.

Last night on "60 Minutes," President Obama was asked whether he knew that Hillary Clinton had a personal e-mail server. He said no. And then he also went on to say all of this about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: She made a mistake. She's acknowledged it. I do think that the way it's been ginned up is, in part, because of politics. It is important for her to answer these questions to the satisfaction of the American public, and they can make their own judgment. I can tell you that this is not a situation in which America's national security was endangered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Ron, what are we going to hear tomorrow night about this topic?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, I think we've heard a lot from her already. And I think the real challenge for her is, now that she's acknowledged it is a mistake and clearly in polls, most Americans believe it was a mistake. And it's also taken a big bite out of her views of her honesty and integrity. Her challenge is to make this only one item in a ledger.

I mean, she can't -- once she has acknowledged this is a mistake. What can she do, other than try to convince people this is not the totality of who she is. And I think what she's going to try to do is say, "Yes, I made a mistake. And yes, let's move on." In a Democratic primary context, that's a lot easier than in a

general election context. But if she does become the nominee, that is ultimately her challenge. That this is not going away, but it does not necessarily have to be the primary way in which people assess her. And it's clear in the polls that the opposite is happening now. But in fact, for many voters, this is today the primary lens through which they are seeing her.

BERMAN: Ron Brownstein, Maeve Reston, Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. What is your take? You can tweet us using #NewDayCNN or post your comment on Facebook.com/NewDay.