Spoke to someone close with Clinton in contact with her today. They say she wasn’t trying to be emphatic and close the door on running when she spoke to a local reporter yesterday, and that she was surprised by how definitively it played. 1/2

The person also says she is extremely unlikely to run, but that she remains bothered that she’s expected to close the door on it when, say, John Kerry isn’t. She has told her team she is waiting at least to see the Mueller report. 2/2 — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 6, 2019

Watch her statement on camera and decide for yourself if “she wasn’t trying to be emphatic”:

My guess is that she was a bit surprised and upset at the speed with which sighs of relief were heard from most Democrats – not just the contenders for the nomination, but across the board, including the rank and file. She is rightly afraid that she is now relegated to has-been status, someone who can be ignored. The comment on John Kerry reveals the jealousy and fear she feels that other Democrats may eclipse her in prominence, influence, and the ability to command speaker’s fees and raise money.

This is a woman who, after all, has lusted after power her entire adult life, ever since studying Sail Alinsky and taking on the role of agitator, and then discarding it for power-wielder instead.

A third guess: she secretly hopes that the other Democrat contenders will form a circular firing squad and weaken each other to the point where a deadlocked convention would turn to her as a savior, begging her to accept the nomination as a party-unifier, finally able to win because the Russians no longer are able to aid Trump.

Of course, that’s poppycock on multiple levels, but it probably helps her get through the night.

Photo credit: Westchester12 YouTube screen grab