During a discussion on Wednesday's Hardball about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's reticence to speak out on pressing political issues and her tendency to eschew spontaneity in favor of carefully crafted, calculated statements, panelist Michelle Bernard did raise the point that Clinton has tended to evolve over time to be what she thinks her audience wants her to be. As an example, she raised the audio recording that came to light earlier this year wherein she chuckled as she recalled her successful defense in the mid 1980s of an alleged child rapist.

Yet when Bernard brought up that allegation, fellow panelist and leftist writer David Corn of Mother Jones magazine objected strenuously, dismissing the controversy as much ado about nothing. 

Watch the relevant video below:

Earlier this year, you may recall, Bernard was critical of Clinton on this matter, only to find herself excoriated by left-wing panelist Joan Walsh of Salon.