Howard Dean groaned yesterday as though Hillary's dilemma is somehow unique in American politics. "There’s no upside to answering questions, 'What would you do differently than the president is doing?'" he said. "The press is always running and pitting her against President Obama. She’s been put in a no-win position by the Beltway press corps."
Every presidential candidate attempting to follow his party's incumbent president has had to cope with the delicacy of distance. That, quite simply, has always come with the territory. There is no way around it. I would also hasten to note, somewhat redundantly, perhaps, that the "Beltway press corps" is scarcely the entity that has "put" Hillary in that position. Hillary did--and she's had six years to formulate cogent answers about it. Finally, any candidate who can't handle the Beltway press corps has no business attempting to handle such domestic, firebreathing and damn-near autonomous Leviathans as the Pentagon.
Sorry, Howard, but you have failed to touch my heart.