The Circular Logic Behind Media Coverage of the Clinton Email Story

Paul Waldman – The Washington Post

Republicans are no doubt hoping that lurking somewhere in Clinton’s emails is evidence of a terrible crime she committed whose revelation will destroy her career forever and deliver the White House to the GOP for a generation.

But just for the sake of argument, let’s assume that no such horror will be revealed. What do we have then? Well, we have the plainly foolish decision to use a private server for work email, which we’ve known about for months. Maybe you think that a person who would do such a thing is unfit for the presidency, or maybe you don’t (though that would disqualify Jeb Bush)….

Or maybe you want to argue that this issue is important because it shows that Clinton has a “penchant for secrecy.” Which she obviously does, but you have to go further and say exactly what that means and how it might affect her presidency. It isn’t enough to say, “Cuz, um, Nixon!” The problem with Richard Nixon wasn’t that he was secretive. All presidents are secretive to one degree or another. The problem with Nixon was that he and his aides committed dozens of crimes, for which many of them went to prison.

We’re still waiting for somebody to explain the crime Hillary Clinton committed.

Hillary Clinton answers reporters’ questions about using a private email account to conduct business while serving as Secretary of State, March 10, 2015. (AP)

Hillary Clinton’s Inevitable Problems

Nate Silver – FiveThirtyEight

Aren’t Clinton’s polling numbers suffering as a result of the scandal surrounding her use of email while secretary of state? It’s certainly possible, but it’s hard to determine cause and effect. There hasn’t been the sudden change in ratings you see around historical scandals like Iran-Contra; instead, her favorability ratings have been declining at a steady but relatively slow pace for a long time.

If you squint, you can perceive some acceleration in the downtrend in March, when details of the email scandal were first reported. But there were a lot of other things going on this spring too — notably, Clinton was in the midst of launching her campaign. And while Clinton has seen a decline in her polling in areas such as honesty and trustworthiness — consistent with the hypothesis that the scandal is affecting her numbers — she’s also seen a decline in categories like “cares about people like you,” which would speak to a broader set of challenges.

The reason I’m skeptical that the email scandal is the cause of Clinton’s problems is because it’s not as though she entered the race with a squeaky-clean reputation.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., lifts his arms in celebration as he speaks at a rally in Portland, Oregon on Aug. 9, 2015.

Hillary Clinton’s Two Challenges: The Media and Bernie Sanders

John Cassidy – The New Yorker

…forging a working relationship with the national media is just one of two immediate challenges facing Clinton. The other—what to do about the rise of Bernie Sanders—is far more important. Earlier this week, in a front-page piece in the Times, the Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, who ran Howard Dean’s 2004 Presidential campaign, was quoted as saying about Clinton, “Certainly she could lose Iowa.”

Even if this happened, Trippi added, Clinton would probably go on to win the nomination. That’s true. But just a few weeks ago, the very idea of Sanders winning the Iowa primary would have seemed far-fetched. Now, perceptions are changing. In an interview with Politico … Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor, compared Sanders to Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern, two liberals who, in 1968 and 1972, picked up a lot of support in the early primary states and derailed establishment favorites….

A Clinton adviser admitted to the Times that the campaign had underestimated Sanders’ appeal in Iowa, but added, “It’s too early to change strategy because no one knows if Sanders will be able to hold on to these voters in the months ahead.”

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton peers over a podium while addressing an audience during a campaign stop in South Carolina on June 17, 2015. (AP)

 

Clinton Can’t Shrug it Off

Jennifer Rubin – The Washington Post

All jokes aside, Democrats who have not completely lost touch with reality will recognize how perilous is their position. They have an inept candidate in denial and unable to put to rest an FBI investigation. And for now, they have no obvious alternative. What will Democrats do?  Republicans will smile — and shrug. They better hope she isn’t chased out of the race. Most of the 17 GOP candidates now in the race seem capable of beating her at this point.