Clinton's Flaw: A Failure to Connect

Her best, and most affecting, moments came when she briefly let her guard down. In early January, in Portsmouth, N.H., when asked how she steeled herself for every day on the trail, she choked up and, with moist eyes, said, "You know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political. It's not just public. I see what's happening, and we have to reverse it."

There was another such moment at the Texas debate on Feb. 21, when CNN's Campbell Brown asked her to describe her "moment of crisis." Clinton said, "Well, I think everybody here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life. . . . [But] with all the challenges that I've had, they are nothing compared to what I see happening in the lives of Americans every single day."

She then talked about a visit she and John McCain had paid to seriously wounded veterans at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and about how moved she was by the courage of those in wheelchairs and on gurneys, the burn victims and the paraplegics. "You know," she said, "the hits I've taken in life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country."

Those moments allowed people to see the passion and the empathy that have motivated Clinton all these years. But they have been few and far between; unlike Bill Clinton, this is a really private person.

Her inability to break through the scar tissue -- the accumulated wounds of a demanding father, a wayward husband and countless political battles -- may cost her the chance to be president.

davidbroder@washpost.com