Hillary Clinton was the poster child for everything the American people hated about Washington politics
That she was. But she also ignored issues that assorted Republican candidates didn't ignore. Had there been no Trump in the race, she might also have lost because---setting her individual unlikablility to one side---she was associated closely enough to His Excellency Al-Hashish Field Marshmallow Dr. Barack Obama Dada, COD, RIP, LSMFT, Would-Have-Been Life President of the Republic Formerly Known as the United States that she was, possibly, even more vulnerable to anyone out of the Republican camp, D.C. product or otherwise.
As for living in "perilous" times, if you go by the rhetoric of the past several elections we've been living in "perilous" times for a long enough time. To the point where you couldn't blame anyone for believing that "perilous times" mean it's time to elect our next monarch---er, president, because
he/she/its the
only one who can
save us (at last!!!!) from the scourge of (insert your favourite bugaboo/devil/mortal enemy) . . .