...but even though he can fight fire with fire against Trump it doesn't mean that's the kind of image he wants to present to undecided voters in California and nationwide.
If the debate gets so nasty that it becomes an embarrassment on the level of some of the GOP debates earlier this year, the Clinton campaign could possibly get some traction by claiming it was staying above an unnecessary nasty fray all along.
I have to admit that this worried me when the Sanders/Trump debate business started gaining traction. But then I thought it through and came to the conclusion that if Bernie were the Democratic nominee, he'd have to go up against Trump anyway. And, if Clinton is the nominee she will have to go up against him as well. There's no avoiding a Democratic nominee having to wade into what could be ugly waters with Donald Trump (unless somehow the Republican Party manages to give him the boot, something that seems very unlikely at this point). My real feeling is that a Sanders/Trump debate, if it happens, will be entirely down to Clinton's decision to renege on her commitment to debate Sanders in California. That decision was a very bad move on her part.
Thanks for links to all three of these articles!