Posted on 01/25/2006 5:05:57 PM PST by Nasty McPhilthy
New York's junior Senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton, got some rather bad news today. According to a Gallup/CNN poll, 51 percent of Americans say they definitely would not vote for Clinton if she runs for president. A mere 16 percent say they are firmly behind her.
Thirty-two percent of those polled claim they'd consider her for president in 2008. In other words, anti-Clinton voters outnumber pro-Clinton voters 3-1.
Meanwhile, 60 percent of the males in the poll say that there's no way they'd support Senator Clinton as Commander-in-Chief, TV show or no TV show.
Another poll released last week showed Hillary losing to Republican Senator John McCain. McCain decisively beats Clinton by a huge margin of 16 points. By a whopping 52 to 36 percent, voters picked the Vietnam War hero over Clinton in the Diageo/Hotline survey.
With the majority of Americans, Clinton appears to have her work cut out for her if she expects to attain the Democrat nomination in 2008. The last few polls have increased the belief by other Democrat contenders that Senator Clinton does not have a lock on their party's nomination.
"Believe it or not, behind the scenes the GOP hopes Hillary -- and her baggage -- will be the Democrat nominee. She'd be easier to beat, they believe," says political analyst Mike Baker.
"Suddenly, after all the media hoopla over Clinton and after all the softball, fawning interviews on television, Hillary may be viewed as damaged goods."
Baker believes that many conservative pundits and politicos are feigning fear of Hillary in 2008 so that she will be the Democrat Party candidate. She'd be more vulnerable than say an Evan Bayh of Indiana or a Bill Richardson of New Mexico.
One problem Clinton faces in the next two years leading up to the presidential campaign cycle are the contradictions between her speeches and her voting record. For example, while she talks tough on illegal immigration, she joined her New York partner, Senator Chuck Schumer, to vote against a bill that would increase the number of border patrol agents and detention centers. And even though the mainstream media tried to portray Clinton's stance on abortion as "moderate," she's on record as voting against a ban on partial birth abortion and oppose parental notification. Hillary has been caught lying several times proving she's not as slick as her husband Bill.
While her defenders say her poor poll numbers are a result of the Hillary controversy on Martin Luther King Day -- when her shrillness was displayed and she accused the GOP in the House of Representative of running the place like a plantation -- her poor showing in polls predates her MLK memorial comments.
In a Gallup poll conducted last December, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani trounces Clinton 50-40 percent. Another poll -- Quinnipiac University -- shows McCain or Giuliani beating Clinton by 6 points each: McCain 48-42 and Giuliani 50-44.
The problem for Clinton -- and perhaps for McCain and Giuliani -- is support of the party base. Senator Clinton has had difficulty with the left-wing of her party because of her support for the Iraq war. Although she's been backing away from that support, this is viewed as political posturing and highlights her penchant for saying anything to get elected. At the same time, McCain and Giuliani are viewed as too moderate for the right-wing of the GOP.
A 2008 victory for any of these candidates will depend on who can fire up their base more. The Republicans have an advantage since Clinton is despised by most conservatives, but Giuliani and McCain have at least the respect of Liberals even if they don't intend to vote for them. The GOP will benefit from a base intent on stopping Hillary Clinton, even though they may not be all that happy with their own candidate.
This creates the likelihood of a stunning paradox: Republican voters will swarm the voting booths to prevent a Clinton presidency regardless of how much they support or don't support their own candidate. In the words of popular talk show host and legal scholar Mark Levin, "I'll hold my nose and vote for McCain."
While GOP party strategists aren't exactly popping open the champagne, they do find the polls interesting. As they see it, Clinton would not do well in spite of the obvious advantages she enjoys. For instance, the news media provide positive coverage, or what they may perceive as positive coverage. Strategists understand that members of the news media, the so-called Hollywood and entertainment establishment, and Manhattan elites wholeheartedly support her. All that's missing from a Diane Sawyer-Hillary Clinton interview is the expresso and Sacks Fifth Avenue shopping bags.
But the support of the mainstream news media isn't what it once was for a presidential candidate. The emergence of the so-called new media -- talk radio, Internet news websites, bloggers and Fox News Channel -- appears to be on the way to evening the playing field. It was a blogger who exposed CBS News' attempt at discrediting President Bush with phony documents. It was also the new media who helped defeat John Kerry in 2004 by reporting on the views of Swift Boat Vets for Truth. The elite media attempted to thwart the Swifties, but the new media countered their allegations.
Still, 2008 is a long way off. Remember Howard Dean? The media couldn't stop themselves from holding up this left-wing moonbat as the front-runner. The Dean Machine was all the rage; that is, until Americans actually saw the man's odd (I'm being kind) behavior. Suddenly an anti-war protester, who resembled an orange-colored cross between the Adams Family's butler Lurch and Stan Laurel from the legendary Laurel & Hardy comedy team seemed a viable alternative to Madman Dean. And what's Hillary going to do when she absolutely has to show her legs in a dress or skirt? Or is she planning on staying with the pantsuits?
"I've long said there's no chance Mrs Bill Clinton could ever be elected POTUS. 40% of the electorate hate her guts.. And for good reason."
I just wish that they would stop with these polls! If this continues until 2008, the Dems might begin to wise up and consider another nominee. Of course, if all they can come up with is Gore or Kerry, well, no problem. :)
Don't forget: it's not *just* the Hildabeast. This is MRS. BILL CLINTON we're talking about here.
It's still buy one, get one free. The infamous Klintoon two-fer. America should never forget that. A vote for MRS. BILL CLINTON is a vote for Bubba wandering the WHite House halls and blabbering incessantly on TV. And just ick.
I want the humiliation to be complete. I want to put a knife through liberalism once and for all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.