Can Hillary Clinton overcome her trust problem?; Washington Post, 7/3/16

Anne Gearan, Washington Post; Can Hillary Clinton overcome her trust problem? :

"“The hardest thing is vouching. When you vouch for them you say ‘I’m putting my reputation on the line. I believe this person is a good person, has character,” Biden said in the interview for NPR’s “Weekend Edition.” “You’re putting your rep on the line. You’re saying, ‘I think this person has character,’ and that’s what I’m prepared to do for Hillary.”

Character is exactly Clinton’s trouble spot, according to polls that have charted an increase in the number of people who say they don’t like and don’t trust her as the campaign has marched ahead...

“The campaign trail is just not designed to help her with her trust issues,” said Patti Solis Doyle, who managed the first portion of Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign and is now a prominent supporter.

“Having said that, I think it is important for her to acknowledge that she has trust issues and to tell voters that she will work to earn their trust,” she added. “It shows that she is in tune with the public and can recognize her flaws. This is not something she would have done in ’08. Voters appreciate the honesty and self-reflection.”"

Biden Is Sick Of LGBT People Getting Treated Like Second-Class Citizens; Huffington Post, 1/20/16

Alana Horowitz Satlin, Huffington Post; Biden Is Sick Of LGBT People Getting Treated Like Second-Class Citizens:

"Vice President Joe Biden got visibly heated while discussing the importance of LGBT rights on Wednesday.

Speaking at an LGBT rights roundtable at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Veep lamented that openly gay and transgender people are still treated like second class citizens around the world.

"LGBT people face violence, harassment, unequal treatment, mistreatment by cops, denial of health care, isolation -- always in the name of culture. I've had it up to here with culture. I really mean it," he said, striking the table with his palms. "Culture never justifies rank, raw, discrimination or violation of human rights. There is no cultural justification. None. None. None."

Biden said that he has confronted at least four heads of state from countries where people face persecution over their sexuality. He didn't say which leaders he spoke to, but at least 75 countries represented in Davos outlaw homosexuality."