Clinton’s determined struggle with Donald Trump

According to last week's Gallup poll, Hillary Clinton was the woman Americans admired most for 14 straight years. But her presidential campaign and the controversy over her use of a private email server as Secretary of State, have taken their toll. Her favourability and trustworthiness ratings have plummeted dramatically, and she is being caricatured once again as a calculating and inauthentic career politician. However, if she succeeds in maintaining the lead against Donald Trump (by a few percentage points), she will be sworn-in as President of the United States on 8th November.

Mrs Clinton's career has not taken a predictable route. She was one of her husband's chief campaign strategists and used to urge him to reject incremental change and work hard at "making the impossible possible", while holding their marriage together after Bill Clinton's sex scandals came out and impeachment....

Her prolonged contest with Mr Sanders, whose campaign was not widely expected to sur- vive the first few nominating contests, laid bare the cost of her diminished popularity, especially with younger voters who exposed their depth of anger, frustration and disgust at her behaviour when she was Secretary of State.

The angry American electorate is demanding more than the competence and hard work she is promising if elected president. Donald Trump and the majority of younger voters are demanding the truth from Clinton about those emails, and this is surely a warning sign that her difficulties are far from over. She is listening attentively to people's problems and prescribing specific solutions if elected. But while her husband devoted his campaign to the forgotten middle class, Mrs Clinton is still struggling to hit a clear and detailed policy proposal and a direct position. The most telling promise she has made so far is that she will not overpromise.

In one of her recent squabbles with Donald Trump some weeks ago, Mrs Clinton made a bracingly honest statement: “I am not a natural politician like my husband or President Obama. However, I want to make it clear to all of you that I shall neutralize any doubts about whether I am tough enough for the Oval Office.”

Unfortunately, however, some Democrats are still undecided about female leadership. They are also worried about the result of the FBI investigation over the email scandal and the Benghazi inquiries and about Donald Trumps' ever increasing popularity due to the cycle of terrorism engulfing Europe and other parts of the world, and which he promised to eradicate. But Hillary Clinton is still adamantly sticking to her position. She keeps moving forward, ably aided by her husband Bill thus leaving all worries to fall by the wayside.

We augur the best for Mrs Clinton in her struggle to topple Donald Trump and to reach the White House. I am sure that her magic will win the day come 8th November. Jos Edmond Zarb Birkirkara