Washington--Bill and Hillary Clinton's formidable political machine has got them to a governor's mansion, the Senate and the White House -- but their long legacy and deep network could now be a liability.
A steady drip, drip, drip, of senior staff are leaving Barack Obama's White House to join Hillaryland -- the latest incarnation of a US political dynasty to rival the Roosevelts, Kennedys or Bushes.
But the last few days may have given those heading for the campaign trail pause.
The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation has been accused of taking millions of dollars in donations from Gulf states with questionable human rights records.
Embarrassingly, the painter of a famous Bill Clinton portrait revealed it included a veiled nod to Monica Lewinsky's semen-stained dress, as he described Bill as "probably the most famous liar of all time."
Then came revelations that Hillary Clinton had used a personal email account to conduct public business while Secretary of State, perhaps to avoid making some of her correspondence public.
None of the revelations alone should be enough to wreck Clinton's bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016.
But they underline that with perennial candidacy comes permanent baggage.
Political foes are helping voters connect the dots between scandals, painting a pattern of impropriety and a self-serving quest for power.
Electoral strengths -- valuable philanthropic work, a politically formidable former president fighting your corner and experience as America's chief diplomat -- have all been rendered weaknesses.
"Part of the reason that Hillary lost in 2008 is Democratic power brokers thought that she was too divisive and had too much baggage," said Sean Trende an analyst with Real Clear Politics.
"This dredges up those memories and could cause some to look around for an alternative."
- No coronation -
So far Clinton's fabled network has come up short, as it did in the 2008 race when Clinton was also the prohibitive favorite.
The White House, the State Department, the Secretary of State, legislators an assortment of spokespeople and well-deployed political commentators have been unable or unwilling to say why Clinton actually used a private email account.
When the campaign starts in earnest, Clinton's operations will crank up several gears and may yet prove its worth.
"I think her strengths, the Clinton machine, will overcome any problem that these flaps generate," said former governor Bill Richardson, who ran against Clinton and Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2008.
"They are a formidable political machine and its two of them," he told AFP.
"It's stronger now I think, because of her record, because she was Secretary of State, I think Clinton has become more popular, she may be the first women president."
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