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The Best Moment From Hillary Clinton's Interview

by Melanie Schmitz

In her first sit-down interview with CNN's Brianna Keilar on Tuesday, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton struggled to answer some tough questions. But there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she left the interview on a high note. After a full 20 minutes of intense scrutiny over the scandals in which she's been embroiled over the past year, including her role in the Clinton Foundation donation controversies and the notorious Emailgate, Clinton managed to pull her head above water, effectively saving the interview at the last minute and capping off the frank discussion with a lighthearted quip that perfectly summarized her campaign strategy going forward. In one of the biggest moments of Clinton's Tuesday's CNN interview, Clinton joked that she was "the best Hillary Clinton" out of all her impersonators.

Responding to Keilar's inquiry over which Saturday Night Live comedian had mimicked the former FLOTUS the best on the small screen (either current cast member Kate McKinnon, who also routinely plays Justin Bieber, or SNL alumna and Parks and Recreation actress Amy Poehler), Clinton swiftly replied:

I think I'm the best Hillary Clinton, to be honest. So I'm just going to be my own little self and keep going along and saying what I believe in and putting forth changes I think would be good for the country. I'm not looking for ratings, I'm looking for votes.

Clinton's jest served as an important message to prospective voters, ensuring them that she would not be a carbon copy of her own caricatures — the untrustworthy career politician or the strident, no-nonsense hard-nose — but that she would be heading back to her pre-Washington roots, putting the most legitimate version of herself forward for judgement. Despite her own actions to the contrary and her expert avoidance at any full confrontation (the 2016 frontrunner made sure to avoid answering questions regarding her involvement with the deletion of some 30,000 emails from her private server and concerns that voters didn't trust her), it made for a great tagline in an otherwise stubborn chat.

The former Secretary of State was also quick to add that she wouldn't be taking sides over the SNL query.

"Amy's a friend of mine," insisted Clinton. "Kate's doing a great job. You're not going to get me to pick one or the other."

Clinton may not have been looking for ratings on Tuesday, or any day for that matter, but her lighthearted quip and her ability to turn a tough interview back in her favor certainly did just that.