Americans don't like powerful figures who punch down, that is, who pick on someone less powerful and less able to speak for themselves than they are.
Mark ShieldsHillary Clinton, at the end of the debate, what you want viewers to say, yes, she's smart, she's knowledgeable, but she's not a bad egg, you know? Not a bad egg is a pretty high compliment in American politics, given the toxic atmosphere in which we currently dwell.
Mark Shields