Investigative journalists keep looking for negative news that exposes wrongdoing or questionable behavior by public figures, and this year the biggest targets are political candidates.
So why are there so many negative reports about the Republican candidate and so few about the Democratic Party's nominee, Hillary Clinton? Is it because there's so much more trumpery about the GOP candidate and it's a much juicier story, even if it is harder to dig up?
Or is it that Clinton is better at hiding questionable issues? Could it be that they don't exist? That's hard to say, since politicians are always more than eager to spread dirt about their opponents, whether true or not, and they feed tips to journalists on where to find the muck.
Could it be, as some politicians say, that all reporters are biased liberals? That, however, ignores the reality that there are also biased conservatives active in the news media, both print and broadcast. And most reporters do their best to keep their opinions to themselves. Their opinions are not relevant to what they do.
Consider this: There are more stories about the transgressions of Donald Trump because there are more transgressions to report, and they are far more juicy.
So far, the most serious transgression about Clinton is about the 33,000 emails that supposedly carried confidential material to her private computer server. But several congressional investigations, a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and constant accusations by the Republican opposition have turned up fewer than 50 documents out of 33,000 that were marked "confidential," and there is some question about whether they were marked as such before or after she received them. In any case, none of the investigations turned up enough evidence to warrant legal action against her.
Moreover, other senior government officials have also used private servers, including many members of Congress and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. None have been investigated or charged.
In any case, Clinton has admitted an error in judgement in having a private server, acknowledged that it should not have happened, and apologized.
Yet the Trump team continues to beat her over the head with it (metaphorically speaking), like an angry parent nagging a teenager for a lapse in judgement.
As every parent knows, or should know, there comes a time when such nagging is counterproductive.
As for other issues supporting allegations of Hillary Clinton's misdeeds and misbehavior, one of the big ones recently has to do with husband Bill's behavior with other women.
Is that all you've got, guys? And considering your own history of multiple marriages and dalliances, who are you to talk? That's the pot-kettle syndrome with a vengeance.
Now consider some of the other issues that Trump has claimed Hillary Clinton is personally responsible for, such as the Benghazi attack and the rising of ISIS in Syria. Subsequent investigations have shown that nothing could have prevented the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, and the crisis in Syria happened after Clinton left the State Department.
The political bottom line is this: A campaign for the office of President of the United States should be more concerned with policy positions and proposals on how to deal with major issues facing the American government and society. such as international affairs, the danger of war, economic growth, employment and unemployment, health care, housing and poverty.
Does Hillary Clinton have idiosyncrasies? Undoubtedly. Everyone does. Does she score low on the likeability scale? With many voters, yes.
But it's time for voters -- and the news media -- to focus on competence, experience, calmness under pressure and rationality in making decisions and addressing perceived slights.
So if newspapers, magazines and television news departments have been focusing largely on the trumpery of the Republican candidate, that's because it's a big story, a very juicy story, and it has very important consequences for the American people.
Are there major stories of misdeeds, miscalculations and misbehavior by the Clintons? Probably. But Hillary's transgressions, if they exist, have yet to be found, and that's not for lack of trying by operatives within the GOP or among hard-driving journalists.
What of former President Bill Clinton's transgressions? They have already been documented and exposed. Besides, he's not running for President.
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