AH YES, I REMEMBER IT WELL – AT 8:55 A.M. ET: 

"I'm not a crook." – Richard Nixon, November 17, 1973

The e-mail controversy "has nothing to do with me." – Hillary Clinton, August 18, 2015

More and more, Hillary Clinton is being compared to Richard Nixon at Watergate.  And why not?  All Nixon had to do was say, "As leader of my party, I take full responsibility for this break-in, this improper act, and it will never happen again."  He would have come out a hero.  But, no, he just couldn't bring himself to do it, and went down in flames, trying to cover up everything.  And the saying began, "It's not the crime, but the cover-up."

Now Hillary can't bring herself simply to say, "I made mistakes in the handling of sensitive material while secretary of state.  I take full personal responsibility.  It won't happen again."  No guarantees, because this is much more serious than Watergate, but the public is generally forgiving when someone admits an error, or personal failing.  But no, Hillary must prove herself a Yale-educated lawyer.  Her press conference yesterday, which she cut short, was, as Fiorello LaGuardia used to put it, a beaut.  Ron Fournier of National Journal called it the worst press conference Hillary ever gave.  And it was.  And it was Nixonian.

And just as Barack Obama is the second coming of Jimmy Carter, Hillary Clinton may well be the second coming of Richard Nixon.

But her numbers are dropping.  Why do I think she may not even make it to the nomination?

August 19,  2015