Hillary's Nixonian path to office

Those looking for a historical parallel turned, inevitably, to one figure. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said that Clinton is “a modern, Democratic Richard Nixon.” “Nixon didn’t burn the tapes,” tweeted Joe Scarborough, “but Hillary deleted the emails.” Politico’s Todd Purdum did a careful historical comparison to Nixon, finding Clinton similarly “suspicious, defensive, contemptuous of the press and scornful of political adversaries.”

Clinton’s e-mail housecleaning — barring new revelations — may work. She seems to have navigated the gray areas of federal rules to avoid transparency. But Republicans clearly hope the Nixonian label — which some in the media find credible — will stick. They believe the controversy, though not politically fatal in isolation, will add to the composite of a candidate driven by secrecy and resentment, surrounded by a ruthless palace guard and convinced rules apply only to others.

A Republican candidate for president in 2016 (like every candidate for president) will need to negatively characterize his or her opponent. But the narrative of Clinton as Nixon underestimates both leaders.