Six months or a year ago, many envisioned the biggest contrast in the 2016 presidential race would be old vs. new, President Obama’s third term vs. turning the page. And that contrast — ironically the same sort of comparison that did not serve Hillary Clinton well in 2008 (experience vs. change) — remains a key concern in the race. But she and Bill Clinton, as they always manage to do, have made this about themselves — their greed, dishonesty and sense of entitlement.
At times, it seems they simply can’t help themselves, as if they can no longer remember what is fabricated and what is not. Hillary Clinton imagined that she was “broke” when she left the White House; in fact, they had millions in book advances. Bill Clinton claims to have “taken almost no capital gains,” when, in fact, he took
$400,000 between 2000 and 2006. Bill also insists “everything” was disclosed when, in fact, foreign donations were not broken out on the Clinton Foundation’s tax returns and we know about a number of speeches he failed to disclose.
Hillary may want to talk about inequality, but is there any better example of a couple who gorged at the trough of Wall Street and foreign autocrats, chose not to follow the rules, never could stop chasing more and more money and (in Hillary Clinton’s case) went to extraordinary lengths to destroy “personal” e-mails that might have pulled back the curtain on all that? The State Department announces she is in the clear regarding conflicts of interest. (Shocker, I know!) But was she interviewed under oath? Did State recapture the destroyed e-mails? The administration does not even bother dressing up a whitewash, nor can the
new spokesman say what the purpose of a disclosure agreement is if the Clintons did not disclose all they were supposed to.
In fact no one — maybe not even the Clintons at this point — knows what they did at whose behest. And indeed State chose its words carefully: There is “no evidence” of undue influence. Now. That we’ve found. That the Clintons have not destroyed.
So the central issue now for Democrats — and ultimately for the voters at large — is whether they can trust her, whether there is still more to come out. Democrats are getting nervous, to be sure.
The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll tells us in its latest poll, “In just seven weeks, a period in which Mrs. Clinton formally began her presidential campaign, the share of people with a negative view of her jumped to 42% from 36% in last month’s survey, and only a quarter of registered voters said they viewed her as honest and straightforward, down from 38% last summer.”
And she does not yet have a specific GOP opponent. The percentage of Democrats who now want an alternative has jumped to 42 percent, odd for someone with no significant primary opponent in sight, so it remains to be seen whether week after week of revelations and MSM coverage will unnerve Democrats to such an extent that they throw in the towel on the Clintons.
So, no the race is not primarily about age but about corruption, and the Clintons’ embodiment of the very inequality they complain about — when other people are involved.
However, in the wake of a series of foreign policy catastrophes, the race at least for Republicans is becoming about national security and Hillary Clinton’s role in the debacle-filled Obama foreign policy (from the Russian reset to engagement with Iran to distancing ourselves from Israel). Obama is underwater, with 40 percent approving of his handling of foreign policy and 53 percent disapproving, while foreign policy has become the most important issue for Republicans (27 percent). Among all adults it is second at 21 percent. And perhaps it is no coincidence that the top-tier GOP candidates who are doing the best in the polls are those who have demonstrated foreign policy sophistication (Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio). It is also worth noting that the oldest candidate among Republican top-tier candidates, Bush, is leading. The percentage of Republicans who can see themselves supporting him has skyrocketed from 49 percent to 70 percent. (Rubio is even higher at 74 percent.)
All of this can change overnight, of course. And polling is not predictive of where things will stand in six months or a year. But for now Hillary Clinton is hurting herself, making honesty and her foreign policy competence top issues. The Republicans who can convey honest devotion to public service, personal integrity and foreign policy mastery stand to do well.
Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective.
Continue reading
Comments
Post a Comment