Just How Terrible Was Hillary’s Campaign? Study: Worst In A Long Time, And Here’s Why.

A study by Wesleyan Media Project published this week took a look at the impact of advertising in the 2016 election and, in the process, highlighted the stunning degree to which Hillary Clinton’s campaign was strategically flawed. The most glaring strategic error: her advertising largely neglected policy, obsessively focusing instead on the personal — often in the form of identity politics and personal attacks against Donald Trump. She also almost entirely neglected key Rust Belt states that ultimately lost her the election.

As Heat Street notes, the study demonstrates that Clinton’s campaign was “without a doubt one of the worst-run political operations in years.” The primary reason, the study concluded, is that her campaign was “devoid of policy discussions in a way not seen in the previous four presidential elections.” Rather than talking about policy, Clinton devoted more than 60 percent of her time talking about personal issues, including identity politics and personal attacks.