AN ENORMOUS CRISIS, END OF WORLD – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:   Hillary Clinton's fans are now facing the issue they merely whispered about before.  None dare call it loathsomegate. From The Hill:

Allies of Hillary Clinton are confident she will win the Democratic presidential nomination, but they are worried about one big thing: her likability problem in the general election.

Clinton has rebounded from a rough spring and summer with a strong fall. And while her eyes remain on the primary, she is already testing general election themes against her possible GOP opponents as they do battle in what could be a drawn-out Republican primary.

Presidential elections are often decided on personality instead of specific policies. Along those lines, people in Clinton’s orbit are worried she doesn’t pass the would-you-like-to-have-a-beer-with-her test.  It’s a test she failed against then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in 2008. Throughout that cycle, Clinton stressed her “35 years of experience” while Obama pitched his “hope and change” message.

The likability test came up often on the campaign trail, most notably in the last New Hampshire debate that year when Clinton acknowledged Obama is “very likable.”

In a quip that may have cost him New Hampshire, Obama responded, “You’re likable enough, Hillary.”

Head-to-head 2016 matchups suggest vulnerabilities for Clinton, particularly against Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who often talks about his love of professional football.

“Her challenge remains the same as it always has been — show voters who she is and reveal the person beneath the candidate,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public policy at Princeton University. “To win people’s trust and to generate enthusiasm, she has to let some of her character come out.”

COMMENT:  I'm not sure I accept that last comment from-the-ivory-tower comment.   Every time Hillary's character comes out, she loses. 

She does well in debates, but has an obnoxious quality about her that just turns people off.  She never seems genuine.  She seems to think it's all about her.  She lacks the image of a "great lady," the kind you'd want in the White House.  Despite all her feminist talk, she often appears weak and indecisive.   No one puts her in a league with Margaret Thatcher or Golda Meir.  The best-known female leader today is Germany's Angela Merkel.  Merkel has that rock-like quality.  But Hillary?   Would you want to spend an hour in her dental office?

December 2, 2015