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Ham Sandwiches and the Low Bar in This Year’s Presidential Primaries.

[additional-authors]
October 15, 2015

I don’t believe in targeting presidential candidates or presidents for technical or mythological crimes.

Richard Nixon’s crimes were not mythological. He was a self-made criminal, and got only some of what he deserved.

Bill Clinton couldn’t keep his fly zipped, yet was impeached (then acquitted) for being unable to keep his mouth shut in response to questions he should have never been asked while serving as president.

How frequently Barack Obama tells the truth is a matter of debate, but he’s never lied under oath.

Texas’ Rick Perry was forced out of this year’s GOP presidential primary, partly because a local Democratic prosecutor decided she could indict, not only a ham sandwich, but a sitting governor for exercising his constitutional veto power. Of course, the real ham sandwich remains in this year’s Republican primary—being a four-time loser for bankruptcies is not a criminal offense, even in New Jersey or Texas—and is still leading the pack.

As to Hillary Clinton, she’s been slow to be honest about her bad judgment in routing emails, but I don’t think that is a crime. To judge from her performance in last night’s debate, she’s quite qualified to be president—how good a one she might be is another question—especially compared to the competition in both parties.

So many candidates have “bellied up to the bar” in this year’s presidential primaries. The only thing more remarkable is how low that bar is.

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