http://www.nationalreview.com/node/425655/print Has Hillary Already Secured the Nomination?
By Charles Krauthammer — October 15, 2015
I repeat: Unless she’s indicted, Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination. I wrote that six weeks ago, amid fevered dreams of a Clinton collapse and a Joe Biden rescue. That those were a mirage is all the more obvious after Tuesday’s debate. The reason, then as now, is simple: Clinton has no competition.
She’s up against three ciphers and one endearing, gesticulating, slightly unmoored old man. If Joe Biden was ever thinking of getting into the race, he’d be crazy to do so now. It’s over.
Indeed, even before the debate, Clinton’s numbers had stabilized. It began with Kevin McCarthy’s gaffe of the decade. That gave her a perpetual get-out-of-jail-free card that she adroitly deploys whenever the e-mail issue arises. Her technique is flawless: a few meaningless phrases about having made a mistake, taking responsibility and being transparent, blah blah, followed by (I paraphrase) “but look at the larger picture, even Kevin McCarthy admits it’s a partisan witch hunt.” QED.
At the debate, Bernie Sanders sealed the deal with a thunderous “the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails.” That rendered the issue officially off-limits to all Democrats. File closed. End of story. Of course, it will be featured in the general election, but we’re talking here about her getting the nomination.
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