When you combine this with her off-putting personality, and related reputation as an overly ambitious and calculating politician, the result is an inability to win the hearts of primary voters. For the last six weeks, Hillary has flailed about trying to find a tactic that could make up for this underlying deficiency.
Her first reaction was to try and play the victim as she did in parlaying Monica into a Senate seat. This was mostly ineffective as no one really believed that the clear national front runner was being attacked for her gender.
Her next reaction was to go negative but she bumbled this by focusing on issues that highlighted her own weaknesses. Was Hillary going to win a debate about who was overly ambitious in plotting to become president?
She recently moved from silly to ugly, however, when her New Hampshire co-chair Bill Shaheen raised the issue of Obama’s past drug use by claiming that Republican’s would use it against him. The Hillary was quick to deny knowledge or involvement - and went so far as to offer a personal apology - and dumped Shaheen. But it is hard to believe someone as controlling and knowledgeable as Hillary, and someone as experienced as Shaheen, acted without any communication.
Hillary quickly returned to asking for sympathy running ads with her daughter and mother in a desperate attempt to soften her image with female voters turned off by her negative attacks.
Voters, however, seem to be realizing that Hillary offers little more than empty promises and the ugly politics of the past. Despite her claims of strength, when pushed she turns negative, ugly, and increasingly brittle. Despite her claims of experience, she has traded on the political success of her husband to attain what power she has and lacks a signature accomplishment of any kind.
There was a time when, despite all their faults and baggage, it was foolish to bet against the Clintons.
Recent events offer hope that this time is coming to an end.