Democratic professionals say that, in contrast to her last presidential campaign, she has strong leadership with John Podesta as chief executive and Robby Mook as campaign manager or chief operating officer. Privately, however, there is concern that crisis management sometimes comes down to a small coterie of personal intimates, her daughter, Chelsea, and Huma Abedin, a longtime aide and surrogate daughter.

Still, there are also encouraging signs for Clinton supporters. After stiffing the news media for the first part of her campaign, Mrs. Clinton has done well in a series of recent interviews. She hates the press but does better when she engages.

No campaign has offered more substance, even if it was overshadowed by the email contretemps. To be sure, some of this is politically calculated: Her biggest threat would be losing the first few nominating contests to Mr. Sanders, so her campaign is determined to protect the left flank.

She still faces criticism for political pandering. She announced last week that she opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade agreement involving the United States and 11 other countries — which encompass 40 percent of the global economy. But she had long supported such a pact, and even her supporters said the stated rationale for opposition was specious and could raise more questions about her credibility.

There’s a lot of real meat elsewhere. No one has offered a more comprehensive proposal to deal with the crushing debt imposed on many families by the costs of college. The same holds for her proposals to establish a sliding-scale capital gains tax rate, her focus on longer-term economics, and initiatives to give financial regulators more powers and to impose a “risk fee” on big banks.

These offerings have drawn fire from the left and the right. But the financial measures were carefully crafted: She consulted experts including top Wall Street executives and former Representative Barney Frank. Her July remarks on “quarterly capitalism” was one of the best economic speeches of this political season. The two big tests she faces over the next 10 days — the debate and the Benghazi hearings — are opportunities to reaffirm the current odds and overcome much of this year’s self-inflicted damage.