July 06, 2006
Personal Characteristics Loom Large in Americans' Views of Hillary Clinton
But negative views more likely to be based on politics and policy
by Frank Newport and Joseph Carroll
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans' positive opinions and impressions of New York Senator Hillary Clinton are based to a significant degree on views of her personality traits and character rather than on political or policy dimensions. Americans in particular admire her intelligence, the fact that she is a strong advocate for women, and that she is forthright and outspoken. The public's negative views of Clinton are roughly evenly split between her personality and policy positions, including basic disagreement with her politics and perceptions that she changes her mind too often and is wishy-washy.
Many Republicans say they have no positive impressions of Clinton and many Democrats say they have no negative impressions of her. However, beyond these differences, the basic views across party lines are similar. Men are much more likely to have negative views of Clinton than are women. Women's positive impressions of the former First Lady are built in particular on views of advocacy for women, her intelligence, and her forthrightness.
Gallup's most recent assessment of Hillary Clinton's overall image was 51% favorable and 44% unfavorable, taken from a June 23-25, 2006 USA Today/Gallup Poll. A separate Gallup Poll Panel survey conducted June 26-29, 2006 asked respondents to talk in their own words about what they "like or admire about Hillary Clinton" and also what they "dislike or don't admire about Hillary Clinton."
All in all, the public is just about as likely to be able to come up with positive views of Clinton as they are to come up with negative views. Thirty-six percent of Americans could not name anything they admire about Clinton, while 39% could not name anything they don't like about her.
There are big political differences on this dimension. Half of Republicans are unable to say anything they admire about Hillary Clinton, while 62% of Democrats are unable to say anything they dislike about her.
The Positives
An analysis of the various responses Americans' give about what they like about Hillary Clinton shows that these are much more likely to be based on perceptions of her personality and character than on political or policy dimensions.
The top categories of positive impressions of Clinton are: 1) her intelligence, 2) the fact that she is a strong advocate for women, 3) the fact that she is forthright, outspoken, and direct, 4) general agreement with her views, 5) her political career and leadership, and 6) her determination and tenacity.
Please tell me what you like or admire about Hillary Clinton.
June 26-29
2006
%
Intelligence
10
Strong advocate for women
9
Forthright/outspoken/direct
9
Agree with her views
6
Political career/leadership
6
Determination/tenacity/perseverance
5
Stands up for beliefs
4
Commitment to her husband/forgiveness
4
Strength/stamina
4
Courageousness/audacity
3
Knowledgeable/well-informed
2
Her campaign for the presidency
2
Honesty/integrity
2
Aggressive/assertive
1
Energetic/enthusiasm
1
Advocate for New York
1
She is a Democrat
1
Physical attributes
1
Good parent
1
Views on healthcare
1
Views on Iraq
1
Faithful/loyal
*
Other
10
Everything
1
Nothing
27
No opinion
9
* Less than 0.5%
Note: Percentages add to more than 100% due to multiple responses.
Here are the results of the positive impressions of Hillary Clinton by party:
Partisan Results: Like or Admire About Hillary Clinton
June 26-29, 2006
Republicans
Independents
Democrats
%
%
%
Strong advocate for women
8
8
12
Determination/tenacity/
perseverance
6
5
5
Intelligence
5
9
14
Forthright/outspoken/direct
5
9
12
Commitment to her
husband/forgiveness
4
4
4
Political career/leadership
3
4
10
Stands up for beliefs
3
3
7
Strength/stamina
3
4
4
Courageousness/audacity
2
5
3
Aggressive/assertive
2
2
1
Physical attributes
2
--
--
Views on Iraq
2
--
2
Agree with her views
1
5
10
Honesty/integrity
1
3
2
Energetic/enthusiasm
1
2
--
Good parent
1
1
--
Knowledgeable/well-informed
--
1
4
Her campaign for the presidency
--
1
3
Advocate for New York
--
1
2
She is a Democrat
--
--
3
Views on healthcare
--
1
2
Faithful/loyal
--
1
--
Other
8
12
9
Everything
--
--
3
Nothing
43
28
11
No opinion
7
10
8
Among Democrats, the top five positive views of Hillary Clinton are:
Her intelligence
Her advocacy for women
Her forthrightness, outspokenness, and directness
Agreement with her views
Her political career and leadership
Among Republicans, the top five positive views of Hillary Clinton are:
Her advocacy for women
Her determination, tenacity, and perseverance
Her intelligence
Her forthrightness, outspokenness, and directness
Her commitment to and forgiveness of her husband
There are no major differences in perceptions of the positive attributes of Hillary Clinton by gender, although there is some suggestion in the data that Clinton may have an appeal to women based on the fact that she is a woman (and would, of course, be the first female president in the nation's history). Twelve percent of women mention her advocacy for women as the factor that they most admire about her, doubling the percentage of men who mention that characteristic.
Gender Results: Like or Admire About Hillary Clinton
June 26-29, 2006
Men
Women
%
%
Intelligence
9
10
Forthright/outspoken/direct
8
10
Determination/tenacity/perseverance
7
4
Strong advocate for women
6
12
Agree with her views
6
6
Political career/leadership
5
6
Commitment to her husband/forgiveness
3
5
Strength/stamina
3
4
Stands up for beliefs
2
6
Courageousness/audacity
2
4
Honesty/integrity
2
2
Aggressive/assertive
2
1
Knowledgeable/well-informed
1
2
Her campaign for the presidency
1
2
Energetic/enthusiasm
1
--
Advocate for New York
1
1
She is a Democrat
1
1
Views on healthcare
1
1
Views on Iraq
1
1
Physical attributes
--
1
Good parent
--
1
Faithful/loyal
--
1
Other
13
7
Everything
1
1
Nothing
30
24
No opinion
7
10
The Negatives
The top two negative perceptions of Hillary Clinton are dislikes based on her political views in general, and the fact that she is perceived as being wishy-washy and wavering on the issues. These are followed by expression of a basic lack of trust in her, residues of past Clinton scandals, and the view that she is overbearing and aggressive.
Please tell me what you dislike or don't admire about Hillary Clinton.
June 26-29
2006
%
Dislike her political views in general/liberal political views
11
Wavers too much on issues to her advantage/wishy-washy
11
Don't trust her
8
Past history of Clinton scandals
7
Overly aggressive/overbearing
7
Just don't like her
5
Too much of an opportunist
4
Her attitude/arrogance
3
Cold/unfeeling personality
2
Lack of morals/ethics
2
Views on Iraq
2
Lack of experience/knowledge
1
Lack of support for Republicans
1
Other
5
Everything
5
Nothing
25
No opinion
14
Note: Percentages add to more than 100% due to multiple responses.
Americans' responses about what they dislike or do not admire about Clinton also vary by partisan groups:
Partisan Results: Dislike or Do not Admire About Hillary Clinton
June 26-29, 2006
Republicans
Independents
Democrats
%
%
%
Dislike her political views in
general/liberal political views
21
10
4
Wavers too much on issues to her
advantage/wishy-washy
15
12
8
Don't trust her
15
9
1
Past history of Clinton scandals
8
9
4
Overly aggressive/overbearing
6
7
7
Just don't like her
5
4
6
Too much of an opportunist
5
5
1
Her attitude/arrogance
5
2
3
Lack of morals/ethics
5
1
--
Cold/unfeeling personality
2
2
3
Views on Iraq
1
3
3
Lack of experience/knowledge
1
3
1
Lack of support for Republicans
1
2
--
Other
6
5
5
Everything
7
4
--
Nothing
8
20
44
No opinion
7
16
18
All but 15% of Republicans are able to name something they don't like about Hillary Clinton, with the top three categories being:
Political views in general
Wishy-washy, changes mind on issues
Lack of trust
Democrats are much less likely to have negative views of Hillary Clinton, but the top negatives among those who do are:
Wishy-washy, changes mind on issues
Overly aggressive, overbearing
Simply don't like her
Men are significantly more likely to be able to verbalize negative opinions of Clinton than are women. Seventy percent of men can mention something they don't like about Clinton, compared to 55% of women.
Gender Results: Dislike or Do Not Admire About Hillary Clinton
June 26-29, 2006
Men
Women
%
%
Wavers too much on issues to her
advantage/wishy-washy
15
8
Dislike her political views in
general/liberal political views
14
9
Don't trust her
10
7
Overly aggressive/overbearing
8
5
Past history of Clinton scandals
6
8
Too much of an opportunist
6
2
Just don't like her
5
5
Cold/unfeeling personality
3
2
Views on Iraq
3
1
Her attitude/Arrogance
2
4
Lack of morals/ethics
2
2
Lack of support for Republicans
2
1
Lack of experience/knowledge
1
1
Other
5
5
Everything
4
4
Nothing
18
31
No opinion
12
15
Survey Methods
Results for this panel study are based on telephone interviews with 1,002 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted June 26-29, 2006. Respondents were randomly drawn from Gallup's nationally representative household panel, which was originally recruited through random selection methods. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.