Trust issue continues to haunt Clinton

Hillary Clinton currently leads her GOP rival in most polls, both national and those in key battleground states. But that lead masks a serious problem for the now-favored Democratic nominee, as The Washington Post reports this morning on a focus group recently held in Milwaukee:

Wisconsin focus group spotlights Clinton’s crisis of trust

[E]veryone seemed bothered, at least to some degree, by the Democratic nominee’s trustworthiness, or lack thereof. It was a major theme that came up again and again during a two-and-a-half-hour discussion.

Only one of the 12 participants said Clinton looks out for average people, and the group collectively struggled to name a single accomplishment that she can lay claim to until someone suggested health care reform – ironically one of her biggest failures.

-- Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who led the focus group, asked everyone to say a word that comes to mind when they hear Hillary’s name. Three said “liar.” Three others said a variation of dishonest.

Seven of the 12 said they think she is lying this week as she insists major donors to the Clinton Foundation received no special treatment while she was secretary of state. Eight said Clinton lied when she claimed to have never received nor sent any material that was marked classified on her private email server.

Many are saying that Donald Trump's path to the White House is narrowing daily, and this is probably correct. But Clinton still has a major vulnerability on the issue of trust, and it's not unthinkable that more scandals and revelations lurk in the future that could once again make this a competitive race.