The snarky headline is “Hillary’s heel.” After the gratuitous insult in the first sentence/paragraph, the screed quickly descends into a version of ‘we’re doomed’ — it’s another instance of the erosion of the public’s trust of HRC, dontcha know. Here are excerpts of the beginning and end of Parker’s column today:
When I wrote the headline “Hillary’s heel,” I was thinking of Achilles, not Bill, though the former president is usually within nipping range of his wife’s pantsuit hem.
Hillary Clinton’s Achilles’ heel is her very Clinton-ness. Rather than tell the truth as soon as possible, a reluctance shared by her husband during his presidency, she has mastered the art of teetering along the knife’s edge of truth. Like a gymnast on a balance beam, she manages to stay within the narrow parameters of lawfulness without losing her footing.
But her long history of avoiding provable infractions despite hundreds of hours of investigations and millions in taxpayer expense — from Whitewater to Benghazi to her private email server — may soon come to an end, not with a gold medal but with an Olympian loss of whatever faith remained in her integrity.
[...lots of heinous examples of HRC’s lying, evasions, and missteps]
To Republicans, Clinton is a serial liar. To Democrats, she is the perennial target of a right-wing conspiracy. Both appear to be marginally correct. The question for voters may come down to this: How much, if any, substantive harm has Clinton’s lack of absolute clarity on a given subject or event caused?
The only definitive answer thus far is that she has deeply damaged whatever public trust remained — and for a candidate, this can be fatal.
There are more than 1,100 comments on the column, both pro and con; however, she is well-defended by many. I added my voice, FWIW:
You know, maybe this event erodes your trust. But "people?" Beware the bubble! Most of the citizens of our fair land shake their heads and continue driving to work.
The mistrust of HRC stems from 40 years of organized, persistent, and nasty character assassination. I would ask you to consider how much you would be trusted if you were subjected to such a lengthy negative campaign. I'll bet your own mother wouldn't want to know you, at least as you had been portrayed.
Really, you should be kinder and more thoughtful towards Hillary. She's more honest than most politicians, according to Politifacts.
It felt good to write it, although probably unnecessary. I supported Bernie through much of the primary, but I have come to admire HRC. I am excited by her candidacy and will do all I can to help her become the next President of the United States — “Madam President — yes!