And Mrs. Clinton is not the type of candidate who benefits most from a primary campaign. She is not an inexperienced candidate who needs to be vetted or to prove her ability to handle a presidential campaign. The 2008 Democratic primary was as intense and as long as most general election campaigns. Her experience as first lady and secretary of state gives her additional national and international political experience.

Her total political experience entering the 2016 contest is probably more akin to that of an incumbent president than anything else. Did Presidents Obama or Bush or Clinton struggle in the general elections in 2012, 2004 and 1996 because they weren’t tested in the primaries? It may have hurt them a little bit in the first debate. But incumbent presidents tend to fare pretty well in presidential elections, and I don’t remember too much talk about the trouble they faced getting back into playing shape.

Perhaps she’s rustier than most — it has been seven years since she last ran — but it’s not as if Mrs. Clinton will be on the sidelines for the next year. She’ll probably engage and respond to her Republican opponents, she’ll hold events in the early primary states, and she can debate the likes of Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee if her campaign thinks it’s useful practice for her. Back in 2008, she was generally thought to be a better debater than Mr. Obama, and she’ll have plenty of opportunities over the next year and half to get back up to speed.