Obsessive secrecy; contempt for the press; planted questions; choreographed events; and brutal payback for any reporters daring to ask tough questions - these are some of the patterns that the press has come to know, from long experience, about the Clinton machine. Crowley explains:

Even seasoned political journalists describe reporting on Hillary as a torturous experience. Though few dare offer specifics for the record--"They're too smart," one furtively confides. "They'll figure out who I am"--privately, they recount excruciating battles to secure basic facts. Innocent queries are met with deep suspicion. Only surgically precise questioning yields relevant answers.

If Dish readers wonder why I've been so relentless in trying to highlight these unsavory facets of the Democratic front-runner, it is partly because so many in the MSM have been cowed by her and partly because the GOP is happy to let her coast to victory. It is also because I fear that the re-constituted presidency, engineered by Bush and Cheney would likely exacerbate all her worst qualities. Yes, I worry about abuse of power in her hands. I bet you that plenty of Republicans will feel the same way when the law-free executive branch they have supported these past few years turns its attention on them.