Hillary's very real authenticity problem... It is getting worse.

[Bonobo]

http://www.salon.com/2015/09/11/hillarys_authenticity_problem/

Joe Biden’s appearance on Colbert’s Late Show points out why she’s having problems connecting with voters

As a candidate, Clinton has a lot of strengths: She’s incredibly smart, undeniably competent, and as experienced as any presidential candidate in modern history. If she has a problem, though, it’s that voters don’t find her terribly authentic. This has been apparent for several months now. In July, an AP poll revealed significant weaknesses among Democrats on a host of issues, including trust, character, and compassion for average Americans – all of these traits, I’d argue, stem from a perceived inauthenticity.

A recent Quinnipiac poll conducted in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania (the three biggest swing states) suggests Hillary’s numbers aren’t improving. On the question of whether or not “Hillary Clinton is honest and trustworthy,” 32% of respondents in Florida and Pennsylvania said “yes” and only 34% said she was in Ohio. As Chris Cillizza noted, that means “Only one in three voters in the three largest swing states in the country think that the overwhelming favorite for the Democratic nomination is honest and trustworthy.”

No matter what Hillary’s people say, there’s no way to positively spin these numbers – they’re alarmingly bad. By comparison, Jeb Bush’s numbers on the same question in Ohio and Pennsylvania are 54%. Even Trump polls better in Ohio on the honest/trustworthy question (37%). These results should not surprise anyone, though – especially the Clinton team.


Hillary has a well-earned reputation for guardedness. Having been a target for decades, she’s become overly cautious, afraid to make a mistake in the public sphere. When the over-hyped (but completely avoidable) email story broke, Hillary’s image took an additional hit, and the worst stereotypes about her were confirmed (fairly or not). At this stage, I’m not sure what Clinton could do to change her public perception. But if her campaign doesn’t believe she has a problem, trouble awaits.

[840high]

1. Good read.

[rhett o rick]

2. " But if her campaign doesn’t believe she has a problem, trouble awaits." It's not like there

is anything her campaign can do. She is who she is. She is a close friend with the billionaires of the 1% and she can't deny it or hide it.

[Jim Lane]

3. I think she could address it.

Note that Jeb is doing better than she is on the trustworthiness poll, although he's even more firmly wedded to the 1% than she is.

Take the example of the TPA/TPP. That issue exemplified the guardedness noted in the OP. From my point of view, it would have been great if she had joined O'Malley and Sanders in clear and full-throated opposition. Failing that, however, she probably would have done better to be a clear and forthright supporter. She would have gained respect for being willing to take a stand even at the risk of giving her progressive critics some ammunition. Instead, she ducked and bobbed and weaved, saying essentially that she was in favor of good trade deals and against bad ones.

She may well find that this approach improves her chance of getting the nomination but will hurt her chances in November.

[rhett o rick]

22. My point is that in her career, she has been able to do what you suggest.

" Instead, she ducked and bobbed and weaved, saying essentially that she was in favor of good trade deals and against bad ones. " That's her and always has been. I don't think she can change now. And if she tried, people would see right thru it.

[Jim Lane]

31. You raise an interesting question

To what extent are voters' pro and con opinions about Hillary Clinton already cast in stone, and to what extent could those opinions be changed by the campaign over the next 14 months?

Opinions on DU have certainly hardened. Her attempt to channel her inner Elizabeth Warren didn't change any votes here. In the wider world, though, I think she has somewhat more room to change her image.

[TheKentuckian]

33. Not really apples to apples. A Republican is inauthentic if they pretend they aren't wedded to the

banks and corporations.

Some of the reasons Clinton comes off as phony is because she is a Democrat and she is expected as such to have different priorities.

Of course you are right that just being honest would help a lot but if she was forthright it would be difficult to maintain her position and it would have been impossible to get here without the benefits of the cover of plausible deniability and a certain amount of open to interpretation phrasing.

Cognitive dissonance would cause some in her corner to have to look elsewhere a hell lot more seriously if they had to take a look at some positions a lot more honestly.

The Turd Way is too corporate and too conservative to win the Democratic nomination in above board fashion even now after flogging the party to the right for a generation.

[DrBulldog]

4. Why is Hillary untrustworthy? Answer: Canada

Why would a Presidential candidate allegedly supporting the middle class ever spend a summer (2014) traveling throughout Canada delivering speeches on behalf of the country's fossil-fuel energy industries - and collect $1.6 MILLION for it? This issue is so damning and yet after all this time it still incredibly has not caught fire with the press.

[busterbrown]

10. Yea..She’s imperfect..evolving etc..

But as much as I like Sanders? handing the issue of a Socialist to a dumbed down electorate. Is a Teabagger/Republican wet dream..

[lobodons]

5. Un F'n Real

Hillary will be the best President in our lifetime. She is the most qualified person ever to run for President. (EVER) She is not perfect, but I know I will darn well prefer her choices to SCOTUS over any of the GOP Clown Car's choices!!!!

[busterbrown]

9. Amen..n/t

[RufusTFirefly]

11. Not that it's even relevant, but your hyperbolic assertion is ludicrous

I hope you were either born yesterday or that you've never cracked a history book. The alternatives are just too unpleasant to even ponder.

Hillary Clinton is by no means the most qualified person to run for President. How about this guy?

Member of Congress

Ambassador to the United Nations

Director of Central Intelligence

Chairman of the national party committee

Envoy to China

Vice President


Experience alone is not the best judge of a good President. George H.W. Bush is a case in point.

[6chars]

26. that guy sucked

[RufusTFirefly]

27. Yes, he did

So perhaps people should avoid making patently false claims about a candidate's superior experience. Beyond a certain point, it's not even clear that experience is a good thing.

[6chars]

29. Al Gore?

Other than the obvious fact of who we got in his place and how that played out, I think Gore's experience really could - probably would - have made him a great president.

[RufusTFirefly]

30. Mebbe so

I'm by no means dismissing experience is an important factor.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. Better than the clown car? Yes.

Most qualified person to run for president ever? Excuse me while I cough up a lung.

[Bonobo]

15. Yes, she is. nt

[Warren DeMontague]

17. She's the most qualified sentient being to ever aspire to ANY job, in this Universe or any other!

Seriously.. "She is the most qualified person ever to run for President. (EVER)" .... where do people get this stuff?

[Yallow]

6. Jeb Bush More Trustworthy Than Hillary Clinton?

You would have to be insane to think Bush can be
trusted more than Hillary.

During his 8 years in office W only told the truth one time. It was
when he said "This is an impressive crowd. The haves and the have
mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base".

Everything else was a lie.

Jeb trustworthy? Insane......

[restorefreedom]

7. you can't fake authenticity.

you can't script sponteneity.

you can't manufacture empathy.

its either there or it is not. and after a bazillion years of running for president, if it was there, basic probability tells us we would have seen it by now.

[HereSince1628]

21. But you can try. You really can organize billionaire donors while hawking finance reform

there is absolutely nothing to stop a person from trying to do that.

There is also nothing to prevent an awake person of avg exposure to politics from noticing

[restorefreedom]

24. its the Second part of your comment

that worries me. We have to hope enough people are awake and aware and give a shit to notice.

[mindwalker_i]

8. She says what she needs to at the time, depending on what issue is hot

But I don't trust that her position won't change as soon as some rich dude needs it to. I have no problem with people changing their position after thinking about them and coming to a different conclusion. It seems like Hillary doesn't have actual positions, she's just a chameleon who changes position depending on the current background.

[Jester Messiah]

12. It's all about being genuine.

Once you can fake that, you've got it made!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. Her campaign is all about marketing a product...

I get the idea they already did that to the 1%.

Now it's time to take it to retail.

[akbacchus_BC]

16. Regardless of her faults, she is more authentic for civil rights

than any republican. I know she does not mention the working class but Mr. Sanders does. I feel the working class and poor people need to be recognised and Mr. Sanders is doing that.

[Phantomaz]

18. The MSM has brainwashed you

You have been reading a good dose of Dana Milbank and Maureen Dowd, I see.
It is the power of the narrative.

[Bonobo]

19. Fake as shit.

All it takes to see that is experience and observational powers.

[sibelian]

20. You'll find that the MSM has little importance on DU...

Other than as a punching bag...

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. Hillary Clinton is as natural as nylon.

She's as real as a hologram.

Takes blinders not to be able to see that.

[Autumn]

25. If you have to make an effort to be authentic, you aren't authentic. And announcing that you

are going to do that really highlights that persons trust and character problems.

[Android3.14]

28. Sure, that's her problem <rolls eyes>

I fucking hate this 2-year episode of Entertainment Tonight.

[L0oniX]

32. Bernie's got the kryptonite.