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Hillary Clinton's challenge: Easing deep doubts about character, trustworthiness

 
Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters at a "get out the vote" event in Charlotte on Monday, a day before she became the first woman to head a major-party presidential ticket. (Washington Post photo by Melina Mara)
Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters at a "get out the vote" event in Charlotte on Monday, a day before she became the first woman to head a major-party presidential ticket. (Washington Post photo by Melina Mara)
Published July 28, 2016

PHILADELPHIA — The question tonight as Hillary Clinton accepts the Democratic presidential nomination in the biggest speech of her life is whether it's too late to ease the deep doubts so many Americans have about her character and trustworthiness.

Maybe there have been too many scandals like her private email server that exposed sensitive State Department communications. Too many $225,000 speeches to Goldman Sachs. Too many questionable donors writing big checks to the Clinton Foundation. Too many people claiming the Clintons murdered Vince Foster. And too many news clips where she seemed to be parsing every word out of her mouth.

All of it adds up to what Bill Clinton on Tuesday called the cartoon version of his wife, and overcoming that image is one of the great challenges facing the Clinton campaign over the next 100 days.

"I lost faith and trust in Hillary a long time ago," said Democrat Will Lizarraga, 32, of Las Vegas, who supported Bernie Sanders and is now wrestling with whether to support the nominee. "My gut is telling me, don't do it. At the end of the day, I just don't think there will be a difference whether it's Hillary or Trump." His friends, he added, view Clinton as a "liar."

Twenty-five years after she first stepped onto the national stage, the negative perceptions may well be baked into the cake. But between the videos, speeches and personal testimonials during this week's Democratic National Convention, and millions of dollars spent and to be spent on TV ads, the campaign maintains countless voters still are learning that the former first lady, New York senator and secretary of state has been fighting for children, women and vulnerable people all her life.

"I have been struck — this is anecdotal, it's not statistically significant — in the last 48 hours of this convention how many Democrats, elected officials, I've had conversations with who said, 'I learned a lot of new things about her,' " said David Plouffe, who led Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and is advising Clinton's.

Former state Sen. Nan Rich of Broward County has known Clinton for 31 years, since the first lady of Arkansas sought her help starting a preschool education program. Rich is convinced Clinton can reverse the negative perceptions.

"I really don't think it's too late, and that's because when people say, 'Oh, I hate Hillary,' and you ask them why, they cannot give you an answer," she said. "They may know about whatever negative things have been put out there over the years, but they don't know about her history as a champion for children and families and women's issues, and that's why this convention is so important."

Clinton's image has been shaped by years of Republican attacks and also her own actions.

Alex Sink, Florida's former chief financial officer, former top-level Bank of America executive, and 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, feels like she can relate to Clinton's image problems and communicating difficulties. A strong, barrier-breaking woman, Sink said, an opinionated, powerful woman like Clinton, takes a lot of criticism.

"My experience is that over time, you kind of build up a shield to protect yourself. You learn that if you're not measured and careful with every word that comes out of your mouth, somebody is going to misconstrue something or criticize," said Sink, who hosted a Clinton fundraiser earlier this year.

Sink especially appreciates some of the TV ads, and convention video clips showing Clinton interacting in more private settings. "Let's get beyond that perceived facade and expose Hillary Clinton's many accomplishments and who she is as a mother and who she is as a leader and the genuineness that her close friends have seen all along."

Polls released this week by CNN and CBS found more than two-thirds of voters said the Democratic nominee is not honest or trustworthy. Only 30 percent in the CNN poll said she was honest and trustworthy, while 43 percent described Trump that way. Only 31 percent of voters in the CBS poll had a favorable view of Clinton, compared to 34 percent for Trump.

"My goodness, they've been pounding on her for 25 years," said Sen. Bill Nelson. "Now it all focuses down to the election. You've got a choice."

With such unpopular nominees, it may boil down to a dreary election where countless voters choose the lesser of two evils.

"I don't think either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will succeed in enhancing their image in a positive manner. The emerging victor will be the least disliked candidate," predicted former Florida Republican chairman Al Cardenas, a Jeb Bush supporter who remains on the fence.

The least disliked candidate can win a presidential race, but the less appealing that candidate is, the harder it is for them to draw in swing voters and to persuade voters from their own political base to turn out. That's why improving her image could prove to be as important to Clinton as tearing down the alternative.

Hillary Clinton is not a natural political charmer like her husband is. Unlike the soaring rhetoric of Obama or the conversational explanations of her husband, her stump speeches can sound like a series of recurring shouts. But tonight's speech likely will be her last chance to speak at length directly to the American people before the election.

Republican consultant Adam Goodman of Tampa believes Clinton's image problems are "irreparable" but that her bigger challenge is overall message. How can she sell herself as a "change-maker," as Bill Clinton called her, while also embracing the legacy and agenda of Obama? Polls show 70 percent of voters think the country is heading in the wrong direction.

"The measures that Americans are struggling with — shrinking middle class, danger here and abroad — how is she going to change that in way that's different from President Obama? Right now her campaign seems to be, 'I'm not Donald Trump,' " Goodman said. "Donald Trump is running this as a referendum on the system, and she's running a referendum on Donald Trump. I don't know how that plays out."

You can't run the election you want. You run the election you have. Clinton has a serious image problem, and so does her opponent.

Tampa City Council member Harry Cohen sees Clinton's speech as a pivotal moment.

"I think there's an awful lot of people that really want a reason to vote for Hillary. They don't want to vote for Donald Trump. They need her to give them the reason to pull the lever for her, and I think that's her major challenge," Cohen said. "What I hear from a lot of people is they're voting for him, because they haven't been given a compelling reason to vote for her. And I think she can do that Thursday night — and it's optimism and it's competence."

Contact Adam C. Smith at asmith@tampabay.com. Follow @adamsmithtimes.