Opponents are ignoring Clinton's major weakness

Kimberly Strassel:

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Interesting, given that character is Mrs. Clinton's biggest problem. For all the Clinton protestations that they were the object of a conspiracy, the polls consistently show that even Democratic voters are queasy about her honesty. The most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll of likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa--which puts Mr. Obama ahead--shows him beating her by 2-1 as the most honest and trustworthy candidate. Every bump on the Clinton campaign road has also been linked to her reputation as insincere.

Norman Hsu made donations to many Democrats, but it was Mrs. Clinton's cache that dominated the headlines, thanks to the 1990s fund-raising scandals. What campaign hasn't planted a question? Yet catching Mrs. Clinton in the act revived the stereotype of a calculating lawyer from Arkansas. Flubbing one policy question among hundreds (on immigrant drivers' licenses) shouldn't be a big deal. But it reminds folks of a Clinton White House that specialized in double-talk and dissembling.

Mrs. Clinton has all but broadcast that her greatest fear is that her opponents will reopen this can of Clinton creepy crawlies. Her refusal, which is growing news, to expedite the release of her records from her time as first lady, is one big sign. Her campaign's aggressive reaction to the merest hint of a personal comment by an opponent is another. It isn't clear the Clinton campaign is sitting on dirt on Barack Obama; but they're happy to have him think they are.

Mr. Obama has come the closest to delving into Mrs. Clinton's past, though you need an Enigma machine to decode it. His campaign slogan is "Change We Can Believe In." (Translation: If you elect her, don't be surprised what she discovers in a box under a table.) He's mused about "character and judgment." (Translation: I don't trade in cattle futures.) Freudian psychology this is, Mortal Kombat it is not. Yet while the squeaky clean Mr. Obama may be best positioned to make a moral case against Mrs. Clinton, his own "politics of hope" has made it difficult to pull out the brass knuckles.

The rest of Mrs. Clinton's opponents fear an attack on her ethics would backfire, allowing her to paint herself as a female victim. You can bet they've studied the video of Rick Lazio, Mrs. Clinton's 2000 Senate opponent, invading her debate space, and Mrs. Clinton's ensuing performance as flinching, defenseless woman. (Mr. Lazio sank like a rock.) She has suggested she's not above a repeat act, dispatching Bill to warn that "the boys" were being awfully "tough" on his wife.

Some Democrats seem to be relying on Republicans to raise the character question. But liberal voters aren't listening to Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney, and if they were, they'd view GOP persecution as added reason to vote for her. Mrs. Clinton thinks so, having just unveiled an ad featuring Romney and McCain attacks.

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You don't need records from the Clinton Library to talk about her cattle futures trading. Nor do you need to limit your self to Norman Hsu's contributions. He and others used the Clinton campaign as props in their fraudulent schemes. Obama's trouble is that he took the tainted money too. What does it say about her judgment and that of her campaign's that they allowed themselves to be used in more than one scheme to defraud investors?

How much other tainted money is in her till? It is a reflection of her character that she is comfortable with some of these characters.