Who's tough on crime now?

There was a time, not too long ago, when it was considered improper if not downright dangerous for elected politicians who weigh in on criminal trials:

In early August of 1970, as Nixon was grappling with the Vietnam War, Manson and his followers were on trial in Los Angeles for the killings of Tate and several others. Nixon, like the rest of America, had apparently been following the trial on TV and in newspapers.

The president found it all very irritating. Speaking to reporters while on a trip to Denver, Nixon said the media's coverage of Manson made him out to be a "rather glamorous figure" even though he was "guilty, directly or indirectly, of eight murders without reason."

That's right: the president of the United States, a lawyer (by training) and chief champion of the constitution (by law), had offered a verdict about an ongoing criminal trial of a madman.

"Within moments," wrote Jeff Guinn, the author of a book on Manson and his trial, "Nixon's remarks flashed across the national …