Joe Biden almost certainly isn’t going to challenge Hillary Clinton, and that’s too bad — for Clinton.

I say that only half in jest. Surely, nobody at Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn is eager for a primary bloodbath with the vice president. But the absence of a credible challenge to Clinton has created a damaging dynamic for her.

Clinton, lacking a sparring partner other than the socialist Bernie Sanders, has reverted to her instincts for secrecy and a distrust of the media that borders on paranoia. And the media, in the absence of the back-and-forth of a competitive primary, have taken on the role of opposition. Clinton’s insularity and the media’s prosecutorial zeal feed each other — as they have for nearly a quarter-century.

“It feels sometimes like the primary is Hillary against the media,” a top Clinton aide told me Tuesday, one of several in Clinton’s orbit who said the candidate would be better off with a viable primary opponent.

Tensions came to a head last week when the New York Times incorrectly reported that the Justice Department had been asked to launch a “criminal investigation” into whether Clinton “mishandled sensitive government information” in her private e-mail account. As the Times gradually cleaned up that mess, columnist Maureen Dowd published a piece comparing Clinton to quarterback Tom Brady (“destroying digital messages and thwarting official investigations while acting all innocent”) and reporting that Biden was talking about challenging Clinton. Those I talked to in Biden world say this is only a theoretical possibility. Therefore, in the absence of a plausible Democratic foe, Clinton will have to wait months for Republicans to settle on a nominee with whom she can contrast herself. That’s regrettable, because a free-wheeling competition would draw Clinton from her ruinous secrecy, overshadow interest in her e-mails and sharpen her message.

Five months ago, I and others warned that Clinton was making a big mistake by refusing to release her private e-mail server to the National Archives or to otherwise get the damaging information out. Had she done that, the story would likely be over by now. Instead, there are monthly releases of e-mails by the State Department, and Rep. Trey Gowdy’s (R-S.C.) House committee has exploited the slow drip of disclosure. Joe Biden almost certainly isn’t going to challenge Hillary Clinton, and that’s too bad — for Clinton.

I say that only half in jest. Surely, nobody at Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn is eager for a primary bloodbath with the vice president. But the absence of a credible challenge to Clinton has created a damaging dynamic for her.

Clinton, lacking a sparring partner other than the socialist Bernie Sanders, has reverted to her instincts for secrecy and a distrust of the media that borders on paranoia. And the media, in the absence of the back-and-forth of a competitive primary, have taken on the role of opposition. Clinton’s insularity and the media’s prosecutorial zeal feed each other — as they have for nearly a quarter-century.

“It feels sometimes like the primary is Hillary against the media,” a top Clinton aide told me Tuesday, one of several in Clinton’s orbit who said the candidate would be better off with a viable primary opponent.

Tensions came to a head last week when the New York Times incorrectly reported that the Justice Department had been asked to launch a “criminal investigation” into whether Clinton “mishandled sensitive government information” in her private e-mail account. As the Times gradually cleaned up that mess, columnist Maureen Dowd published a piece comparing Clinton to quarterback Tom Brady (“destroying digital messages and thwarting official investigations while acting all innocent”) and reporting that Biden was talking about challenging Clinton. Those I talked to in Biden world say this is only a theoretical possibility. Therefore, in the absence of a plausible Democratic foe, Clinton will have to wait months for Republicans to settle on a nominee with whom she can contrast herself. That’s regrettable, because a free-wheeling competition would draw Clinton from her ruinous secrecy, overshadow interest in her e-mails and sharpen her message.

Five months ago, I and others warned that Clinton was making a big mistake by refusing to release her private e-mail server to the National Archives or to otherwise get the damaging information out. Had she done that, the story would likely be over by now. Instead, there are monthly releases of e-mails by the State Department, and Rep. Trey Gowdy’s (R-S.C.) House committee has exploited the slow drip of disclosure. Joe Biden almost certainly isn’t going to challenge Hillary Clinton, and that’s too bad — for Clinton.

I say that only half in jest. Surely, nobody at Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn is eager for a primary bloodbath with the vice president. But the absence of a credible challenge to Clinton has created a damaging dynamic for her.

Clinton, lacking a sparring partner other than the socialist Bernie Sanders, has reverted to her instincts for secrecy and a distrust of the media that borders on paranoia. And the media, in the absence of the back-and-forth of a competitive primary, have taken on the role of opposition. Clinton’s insularity and the media’s prosecutorial zeal feed each other — as they have for nearly a quarter-century.

“It feels sometimes like the primary is Hillary against the media,” a top Clinton aide told me Tuesday, one of several in Clinton’s orbit who said the candidate would be better off with a viable primary opponent.

Tensions came to a head last week when the New York Times incorrectly reported that the Justice Department had been asked to launch a “criminal investigation” into whether Clinton “mishandled sensitive government information” in her private e-mail account. As the Times gradually cleaned up that mess, columnist Maureen Dowd published a piece comparing Clinton to quarterback Tom Brady (“destroying digital messages and thwarting official investigations while acting all innocent”) and reporting that Biden was talking about challenging Clinton. Those I talked to in Biden world say this is only a theoretical possibility. Therefore, in the absence of a plausible Democratic foe, Clinton will have to wait months for Republicans to settle on a nominee with whom she can contrast herself. That’s regrettable, because a free-wheeling competition would draw Clinton from her ruinous secrecy, overshadow interest in her e-mails and sharpen her message.

Five months ago, I and others warned that Clinton was making a big mistake by refusing to release her private e-mail server to the National Archives or to otherwise get the damaging information out. Had she done that, the story would likely be over by now. Instead, there are monthly releases of e-mails by the State Department, and Rep. Trey Gowdy’s (R-S.C.) House committee has exploited the slow drip of disclosure.