www.roanoke.com

Hillary Clinton is no pansy.

Do I need to remind everyone this is the same woman who thought nothing of offending the card-carrying devotees of the Country Music Association with her Tammy Wynette "Stand by your man" sacrilege?

And for good measure, she blasphemed Ms. Toll House in another interview.

As for that Monica Lewinsky dust-up? Hill may have played the good wife publicly. But can I see a show of hands of who would have traded places with Slick Willy when the reporters left the room and the Secret Service was out of earshot?

That's what I thought.

Nah, Hillary is nobody's punk.

So why are some folks, particularly her campaign lackeys, pretending to be horrified that the big, bad male Democrats running for president beat up on poor, fragile Hillary in last week's debate?

To put it delicately, Hillary wasn't exactly on top of her game. But instead of acknowledging that, her loyalists accused the other candidates of "piling on" when they jousted with her on trade, Iran and immigration.

One of them said in a post-debate conference call that NBC newsman Tim Russert "should be shot" for asking her a moderately tough question.

The truth is, these guys are running for president. They want to win. Hillary is the party front-runner. Of course, her fellow candidates -- regardless of gender -- are going to do whatever they can to slow her momentum.

They asked her tough questions. What took them so long?

Heck, the Hillary we've all come to know (and love or hate, depending on your perspective) would do the same thing. She'd take 'em out at the knees and then step over the carnage, careful not to soil one of her signature pantsuits.

This whole woe-is-me spin has Hillary's imprint.

She has not whined about her treatment, saying only that she could take the heat.

Her campaign workers called her a strong woman. Still, they followed up by putting a video on YouTube called "The Politics of Pile On."

Talk about stirring up a little flap to divert attention from the fact that the other candidates ate her lunch.

Lula Brown, 77, of Roanoke watched the debate and thought the other candidates were being a little rough on Hillary. But the front-runner can learn from the experience, Brown said.

"You have to keep a step ahead of the men."

Melisa Ambrose, 23, of Roanoke said she isn't worried about Hillary.

"I think she's a very strong woman. She's a good influence and speaks for the women."

This whole debate has been humorous to watch. Hillary is tough as nails. No one has to feel sorry for her or waste time urging her to "man up."