True, an SSBI doesn't reach back far enough,
and the adjudication guidelines provide wiggle room. But a creative polygraph probe would trip up Hillary right away. And Obama? Probably categories like 'humanitarian aspects' and 'intellectual curiosity' would meliorate his tendencies, at least for a Q. However my original metaphoric statement sprang from directions in public perception, not legal evaluation.
In any case, I suppose there really are strong candidates out there, who might have been able to take center stage in the midst of a robust Jeffersonian-Hamiltonian dialogue. As it is we have a freak show, and this country will get exactly the government it deserves (like Venezuela did).