Two men very familiar with the political process spoke Friday at the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and former White House press secretary Mike McCurry were on panels at the two-day event People, the Presidency and the Press.
Panetta has a long term relationship with the Clintons. He served as chief-of-staff for President Bill Clinton, and later as Director of the CIA and Secretary of Defense in the Obama Administration. Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State during that time period. So it is no surprise he thinks she will be the democratic nominee for president.
"It has been a tough primary for her. She has had to fight her way. She is one hell of a fighter. One thing that is common to the Clintons is that they keep fighting no matter how many obstacles are out there," said Panetta.
Panetta believes Hillary Clinton will win the California primary next Tuesday, and go on to the general election, during a cycle like one we have never seen before.
"My fear is what we have seen so far in this campaign is a lot of ranting, a lot of insults, a lot of personal attacks. And I hope we can get away from that because I think the American people deserve better," Panetta added.
Many of the attacks have come in primary debates.
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The question now is what the three presidential debates will look like. McCurry, former press secretary for Bill Clinton, is the co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates.
"We try to conduct them in a different environment," said McCurry.
That means longer answers and a quiet audience.
"At the end of the day it is going to be the candidates to fall debate, so it will be up to them to give us the content the country is looking for," McCurry added.
