[Hillary] Clinton is a particularly poor spokeswoman for that idea, as her husband displayed the same cavalier regard for equal justice under the law. [....]

Hillary Clinton is not Bill Clinton, and his misdeeds are not hers. But her candidacy for president is appealing to many voters in part because she embodies the restoration of his administration, still glitteringly popular among the hard-core Democrats who will pick the next nominee. It is in that context that her remarks on the Libby case highlight the uncomfortable tension in what she offers to voters: She seeks to surround herself with her husband's legacy and yet strains to stand apart from it. [....]

Hillary Clinton's attempt to have it both ways - to carry the banner of the Clinton years without their burden - makes her vulnerable to that sort of ridicule. We will see much more in the months to come. But already it is evident that her strength is also her straitjacket. It devalues the excitement that should attend her historic campaign, and, in the case of her remarks on Libby, it can hamstring her even when she's right