I already have Hillary fatigue

One problem with Brand Hillary is that Ms. Clinton strikes people as overly programmed. So one challenge for the consultants is to make her appear more authentic. How they do this will be interesting to see, since, as Yogi Berra might have said, authenticity is awfully hard to fake.

Ms. Clinton’s husband Bill was authentic as president – but he didn’t have to fake it. You got the sense from time to time that he had original and interesting things to say. She, alas, does not. Her best qualities are earnestness and diligence. Is there anything she truly, deeply, passionately believes in? Beats me, and it seems to beat her, too. I suspect she believes in whatever she thinks the voters want her to believe in. If she ever did sincerely believe in something on her own, as I suspect she did, she seems to have long forgotten what it was.

Meanwhile, if the voters want her to be a bit (but not overly) religious, well, she can do that. If they want her to be a grandmother and bake cookies, she’ll do that too. If they want her to tell them why she should be president – well, she’ll have to focus-group that one first. Because she can’t exactly tell the truth, which is that she deserves it. And she’s worked so damned hard for all these years. And she put up with Bill. And she’s a woman. And it’s her turn.

As for how she’d tackle the ills that ail America, don’t expect many revelations. Ms. Clinton is nothing if not cautious. To come up with bold new economic policies, she has convened 200 leading experts to give her their best ideas. But something truly bold might offend someone, so her strategy seems to be to add them all up and go with the average. Here’s her boldest idea so far: She wants to help the middle class!