Most of us probably forgot about the silence with which congressional investigators were greeted when they asked then Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton if she used a private e-mail account while in that position. We had … until a news report last week brought it to light. The question, in a letter from House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and first reported by the New York Times, was posed seven weeks before Clinton’s tenure ended. When the State Department eventually responded to Issa’s demand in March 2013, nearly two months after she left office, officials also ignored the question about Clinton’s digital habits. “Given Clinton’s admission that she used a personal account and a private server exclusively as secretary, news of this apparent dodge adds to a scandal that has cost the Democratic presidential candidate dearly in polls. As the drip of damaging details continues, when and in what venue Clinton will address the growing scandal is the question,” Fox News reported. Investigation? What investigation? It doesn’t surprise us that a USA Today poll last week showed powerful craving among Democrats for an alternative to candidate Clinton. “A 55 percent majority of Democrats says it’s ‘very important’ to them to see strong challenges to Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination. Another 25 percent calls it ‘somewhat important.’ ” We find that incredibly telling.
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Vice President Joe Biden fired a shot across the Clinton camp’s bow when he told The Detroit News last week: “I haven’t made up my mind on (seeking the nomination). I have plenty of time to do that. … (President Barack Obama) and I care about what has to get done in the next two, three months, and when you run for president you’ve got to run for president … .” No giveaway there. Said Obama to an Ohio TV station, “… I think she would be an excellent president.” Was that a shot across Biden’s bow?
