I find your article lacking, Curtis. Your conclusion is slightly false:

In the absence of a new system of persuasion and a new set of expectations on the part of the American people for what constitutes trustworthiness… She has to convince us that she’s a man.

My slight objection is that there’s another way to change her predicament. A new system of persuasion or a new set of expectations seems impossible. It’s magical thinking- aint gonna happen.

But something else could change candidates’ predicaments: A new kind of relationship between citizens and politicians- one where citizens have a role past elections and are able to hold officials accountable. Then we don’t have to trust politicians much.

Right now, citizens have no power past the election. It hugely matters who Hillary and Trump are to us, and that we trust our impressions. But if we had a system based on accountability, things would be vastly different. It’d be about ability to perform and ability to be accountable. On the one hand, this would make Hillary more popular, because the lack of trust wouldn’t be such an issue. On the other hand, it could help Trump, too, in ways… Mostly, it would help us, the people, have a government truly of, by and for us.

And, as I said, “slightly false.” Because such a system would effectively be a new system of persuasion- and more, a new relationship with politicians. And it would give us a new set of expectations about what constitutes trustworthiness.