You won’t see anything about it in the mainstream media, but the power players of the Democratic Party realize they have a Hillary Problem.  She has repeatedly demonstrated an inability to shrug off the appearance of corruption the way her husband could.  The basic problem is her unlikability.  Joe Biden can get away with gaffes because he comes across as a nice person.  (So did Bill Cosby, for many years, but that’s a separate topic.)  She also has negative skills on the campaign trail, generating more trouble when she tries to address controversies.  Last night’s NBC poll shows continuing rapid decline in her standing with voters.

The combination of her avarice (she and Bill reaped nearly a quarter-billion dollars in income after leaving the White House, while taking major tax deductions for charitable giving , 99% of which went to their own family foundations in recent years), the disastrous conduct of American foreign policy while she was secretary of state, and the email scandal, which may have seriously damaged national security, makes her seriously damaged, a target of opportunity for negative advertising.  With Citizens United unleashing a torrent of private money, there will pervasive negative advertising about her once she secures the Democrats’ nomination.  Ask Mitt Romney about how hard it is to fight such efforts.

But she refuses to drop her candidacy, a combination of pride and stubbornness.  The coordinated moves of in-the-pocket media and White House spokesman Josh Earnest praising VP Biden are broad enough hints.  But she is unwilling to listen.  This is, after all, a woman whose steely determination to triumph sustained her through decades of humiliating behavior by her husband, with the Main Chance at power and a prominent place in history books the prize.

Money, pledged and in hand, the loyalty of super-delegates, and a core of supporters who will never abandon her make Hillary still a near lock on the nomination if she persists.  At least that’s what people who know the inner workings of the Democratic Party better than I do still believe.

So how to ease Hillary out of her pursuit?

I think Loretta Lynch has the answer to the Democrats’ problem.  She has a personal need to do something  that will provide a dose of visible integrity to her term as attorney general.  One simple action could solve her and the Democrats’ problems: respond to the demand of Tim Fitton of Judicial Watch and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate breaches of the law on the handling of national security documents on her private email server.

It may seem unlikely, but it solves a lot of problems for a lot of people.

Appointing a special prosecutor means that nobody in the Obama administration  needs to or can comment on something under investigation.  It would enhance the reputation for integrity of the AG.  And it would also mean that Hillary could decline to comment on a matter under investigation.

But whether or not Hillary would persist in her campaign depends on how much of her time would be required to cope with her potential criminal liability.  And that would depend on who was appointed as special prosecutor and how rapidly the investigation proceeds.  My guess is that with a prosecutor looming over her life, she would get the message and focus on her defense and (of course) her role as a grandma.