I, Stinky The Clown, propose a total and complete ban on . . . . .

[Jim Lane]

97. That it was intended as tongue in cheek went over my head.

I honestly read it as confusing two different issues -- whether Clinton made mistakes that we can learn from, and whether there were adverse factors that were beyond her control.

The 2000 election is a clearer case. We have much more solid information about that election to establish that illegitimate factors swung the result -- the Harris voter purge, the butterfly ballot, the Brooks Brothers riot, the SCOTUS decision, etc. I don't have anywhere near the same level of confidence that Russian involvement swung the result in 2016. In fact, among illegitimate factors in 2016, I'd put Republican voter suppression well ahead of anything the Russians did. The point is that, despite the theft of the 2000 election, it's still perfectly appropriate to look at the Gore campaign and ask how it could have been improved.