Matthews: ‘Like Nixon,’ Hillary’s ‘In a Public Life’ That She Doesn’t ‘Want To Be In Personally’

MSNBC’s “Hardball” host Chris Matthews argued Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is “like Nixon was. … She’s in a public life, that she doesn’t actually want to be in personally” on Wednesday’s “Morning Joe.”

Matthews was asked how Hillary could handle the controversy over her server in a better way, to which he said, “Well, you know, the old rule is when in doubt, put it out.” After host Mika Brzezinski stated that there’s nothing to put out because Hillary “scrubbed the server.” Matthews argued that’s “a forensic question beyond our grasp right now.”

He continued, “It always struck me as odd that she would fight so hard to keep it from the public, and then to yield it up so handily. I thought that was odd. So, there is that question. What is left there to do? And also now that we’ve heard there’s a duplicate held somewhere — in Colorado somewhere. That’s another question. This thing is murky. This is really murky.  And I think we have to go back to her, I think, almost — well, let’s put it this way, interesting sense of privacy. You go into public life to sort of show yourself off. Like Trump, you show it off. You’re like Christie, it’s all on the table. It’s out there. Most politicians want you to know everything about them. They do like the fact that public exposure. She is the absolute opposite, like Nixon was. The exact opposite of that. She’s in a public life, that she doesn’t actually want to be in personally. So she puts out this avatar, this person who cares about children, this image, this is this person. I want you to talk about this identity out here. It’s not me. It’s this public official who’s a politician, wants you to think about the issues she cares about. But don’t focus on me. It’s a very strange thing in politics. Just — guys like Kasich put out this image of a working class, somewhat ethnic guy, worked his way up, went to Ohio State. But that’s pretty close to who he is, that image that he puts out. They all put out images, but her image is only a policymaking being, not a person. And I’m telling you, that’s the thing that haunted her for 30 years. I don’t want to talk about me, which makes her unique.

(h/t Real Clear Politics)

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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