From First Read's analysis of the latest NBC News / Wall Street Journal poll:
Looking more closely at Clinton's numbers in the new NBC/WSJ, [Democratic focus-group guru Peter] Hart says: 'Hillary Clinton is really Richard Nixon, circa 1968' - which is something we've also alluded to in the past. Of course, this ISN'T saying that her Administration will orchestrate the break-in of a popular building. Rather, it's saying that she's respected for her knowledge and experience (76 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of all adults give her high marks on this attribute), while also viewed as a polarizing figure due to her past (only 49 percent of Democrats and 34 percent of all adults see her as likeable). Moreover, she has a net-negative on the feeling thermometer (43 percent fav / 44 percent unfav) versus Obama's (43 percent - 24 percent) and Edwards's (37 percent - 31 percent) net-positives. 'At this stage, she has a magnificent tailwind' given the Democrats' structural advantages, Hart adds. 'But against that, she has an exceptionally polarizing image.' However, do remember that Richard Nixon won two terms. ...
This a complicated and thought-provoking parallel: Clinton, like Nixon in 1968, also pledges to end an unpopular war. But Nixon won those two victories by defending the "silent majority" against the forces of cultural permissiveness and social liberalism - those forces with whom Clinton allies herself. Which only goes to show that historical parallels, while interesting, also only take you so far. In the end, times change, and changing times bring to power those who best fit the needs of those times. Also: Was the problem with breaking into the Watergate the fact that it was a "popular building"? More likely it was the fact that Nixon knew about a break-in targeting the opposition's political headquarters, which happened to be housed in the "popular building."