The Associated Press lawsuit and the media swarm therefore pose potentially as big a risk to the president as they do to Clinton’s presidential hopes. And that raises the possibility that the White House might recognize it would be better for President Obama if Hillary Clinton did not run. This is not an illogical conclusion.
The lawsuit would not end if she decided not to run, but it might draw a whole lot less attention and permit Obama to finish his term without the constant e-mail scandal swirling around. The White House may also have looked at that news conference with a more objective eye than Clinton spinners and concluded she is a disaster waiting to happen. If Obama wants to preserve his legacy, wouldn’t he do better even with Vice President Joe Biden? The president and his political flacks — who in the case of David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs were publicly critical of Clinton even before the news conference — may conclude she is either irredeemable as a candidate or more trouble than she is worth.
What then? The White House need not be publicly disparaging or overtly endorse another candidate. However, there are a host of ways in which the White House can be helpful to challengers — everything from praising others more effusively to leaking unflattering information to the press. This is hardly far-fetched. If the administration is not above leaking news of a potential indictment of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), their nemesis on Iran, Cuba and Russia, does anyone think Obama and crew wouldn’t do everything in their power to derail Clinton’s campaign if they thought it was in their interest?
Like the media and potential 2016 challengers, they’ll watch the polls and the coverage. At some point they might decide to hit the panic button and start favoring a Clinton alternative. The White House might regard a viable challenger as a lifeline for Obama and for the party. I mean, wouldn’t that be true?
