Bosnia Story May Fuel Perception of Dishonesty

March 26, 2008 — -- Sen. Hillary Clinton is dodging bullets. Not from Bosnian snipers but political opponents and pundits who have assailed her recent "misstatements" about a trip to Bosnia 12 years ago.

An apparent contradiction in statements Clinton made about a 1996 trip to Bosnia as first lady, which she claimed last week included the threat of sniper fire before later recanting, has raised the specter of dishonesty and untrustworthiness that has plagued her campaign from its beginning.

The backlash put Clinton on the defensive early this week, and not for the first time. Her campaign dealt with a perception of dishonesty long before the Bosnia trip became an issue.

In a USA Today/Gallup poll from March 16, 44 percent of Americans polled called Clinton "honest and trustworthy," compared to 67 percent and 63 percent respectively for Sen. John McCain, R–Ariz., and Sen. Barack Obama, D–Ill.

In an ABC News exit poll after the most recent primary March 11, half of Mississippi Democratic voters said Clinton was not honest and trustworthy. By contrast, 70 percent of voters found Obama honest and trustworthy votes.

Part of Clinton's perceived untrustworthiness no doubt stems from her association with her husband, former President Clinton, who was embroiled in a 1998 sex scandal with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

As the campaign season began heating up, even former supporters questioned the couple's honesty.

"Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling," one-time supporter and Hollywood mogul David Geffen said of the Clintons in The New York Times in February 2007.

Voters may not be able to enumerate the lies the Clintons have told -- excluding perhaps Bill Clinton's denial and then admission of the Lewinsky affair -- but there is a perception that they have a reputation for lying, said Matthew Dowd, a Republican strategist and ABC News political consultant.

"There is a perception among voters that there is an honesty problem with the Clintons. In polls they both rate poorly on honesty and trustworthiness," Dowd said.

"Voters have come to a belief about them, and it matters little how much real evidence there actually is. Hillary raises people's suspicion levels because she carries her husband's baggage. People see her and think to themselves, 'are we going back to these same problems?'"