Hillary Clinton Strikes A New Tone On E-mail Scandal

LATimes.com:

Hillary Rodham Clinton's team has long scoffed at polling that shows voter concern about her trustworthiness and honesty. Clinton herself has even dismissed it as voters' confusion amid all the attacks directed at her by enemies on the right. 

The campaign suggests such numbers are overshadowed by the candidate's deep support among Democratic voters nationwide, reflected in her commanding lead in the race for the party's nomination. 

But it has become clear in recent days that the numbers do matter, particularly as Clinton finds herself unable to contain growing public unease with her emailing practices while secretary of State. Key Democrats are anxious over the way the campaign has handled the scandal, and they are eager to see Clinton confront the impression among a large swath of voters that she lacks honesty. 

In recent weeks, the campaign's shifting approach to the problem has been clear. After a news conference in Nevada, where a visibly agitated Clinton responded with sarcasm and annoyance to questions about her use of a private server for government business, the candidate's tone changed. By the time she arrived in Iowa for a campaign event Wednesday, she was contrite. "I know people have raised questions about my email use as secretary of State, and I understand why," she said. "I get it." 

In Minneapolis on Friday, she again used a careful tone. "I'm trying to do a better job of explaining to people what is going on," she said at a news conference. 

It is not just supporters of Vice President Joe Biden who are keeping a close watch on how Clinton is handling the matter. Donors and other influential Democrats are looking for assurance that Clinton will be able to move past the controversy. It won't be easy. The issue is not going away anytime soon. 

The email practices are at the center of multiple government investigations -- including one by the FBI -- and the State Department is under a court order to publicly release each month thousands of previously undisclosed emails sent and received by Clinton while she was at the State Department, with the latest batch due Monday. 

Hillary's changing her tone because of Bernie Sanders more than anything else IMO.

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