Blunder

One of Hillary Clinton's advantages pursuing the Democratic nomination was the perception, based in part upon her experience in public service, experience running for the presidential nomination, willingness to compromise her instincts for political expediency, and a strong base of middle-aged women, was that she would run a stronger campaign against the Republican nominee than would anyone in sight.

She has put those advantages to rest. The reaction to the FBI report was irrational and overwrought and many otherwise healthy adult men and women do come down with pneumonia. It happens.

Major unforced errors, however, shouldn't be made by public officials who have been to a few rodeos.

If you've been around the block a few times, you know not to denounce voters, and especiallly not to paint a word picture with the likes of "basket of deplorables," even if your figure (50% in this case) is actually low. And if the words "just to be grossly generalistic" pass the brain-mouth barrier, you know to slow down and transition promptly to another subject.

Alas, that is not the only error Mrs. Clinton has made since she was nominated. (And couldn't these have transpired during the primary season instead?)  But really, Hillary? She forfeited the possibility of getting the nod from the Fraternal Order of Police, which concluded her opponent

“understands and supports our priorities, and our members believe he will make America safe again.”

Trump responded to a 12-page questionnaire from the FOP and then met with its leaders last month in Trump Tower, the union’s executive director, Jim Pasco, said Friday. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton did not respond to the questionnaire until weeks after the early August deadline had passed, Pasco said, which did not give the FOP time to distribute her answers to state lodges across the state, and the union did not meet with her.








Chuck Canterbury, president of the nation's largest police union, maintained Trump "has seriously looked at the issues facing law enforcement today. He understands and supports our priorities and our members believe he will make America safe again," suggesting both that Mr. Canterbury is enthralled with one of the candidate's campaign slogans and that he skipped class when his third grade English teacher taught the meaning of "seriously."

The president of the Philadelphia Guaridan Civic League blasted the endorsement, arguing "His campaign has been too divisive. It's sexist, it's racist, it's (about) bigotry. They even mock disabled people."    If Trump is to be believed, FOP members have been unable to prevent "a more dangerous environment than frankly I have ever seeen, and anybody in this room, has ever watched or seen." He attributes this to President Obama, who has other responsibilities, but police officers are on the front lines and, in Trump's telling, appear to be colossal failures.

Notwithstanding the candidate's inferences, crime is not down, police are neither powerless, stymied, nor mere bystanders in the extraordinary drop in crime the past quarter century. But that doesn't excuse his opponent from failing to seek the endorsement of their union. And Hillary Clinton plows ahead while inexplicably spearheading arguably the worst campaign of any major party presidential nominee in the past half-century.








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