Hillary Clinton: The Bane of New Hampshire?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Elections, Polls
Here are some of the words Democrats in N.H. are using to describe the former first lady: Criminal, megalomaniac, fraud, dangerous, devil incarnate, satanic, power freak, lying bitch, shrew, Machiavellian, evil, power-mad witch and, last but not least…the ultimate self-serving politician.
Jeezus. I knew there was a lot of ill will towards Hillary, but this type of venom from her own base? She’s got some serious fences to mend if she stands any type of chance of winning her party’s nomination.
From the Boston Herald:
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Dick Bennett has been polling New Hampshire voters for 30 years. And he’s never seen anything like it.[...]
“I was amazed,� says Bennett. “I thought there might be some negatives, but I didn’t know it would be as strong as this. It’s stunning, the similarities between the Republicans and the Democrats, the comments they have about her.�
Bennett runs American Research Group Inc., a highly regarded, independent polling company based in Manchester, N.H. He’s been conducting voter surveys there since 1976. The polls are financed by subscribers and corporate sponsors.
He has so far recruited 410 likely voters in the 2008 Democratic primary, and sat down with them privately in small groups to find out what they really think about the candidates and the issues.
His conclusion? “Forty-five percent of the Democrats are just as negative about her as Republicans are. More Republicans dislike her, but the Democrats dislike her in the same way.�
Bad news for Hillary, but good news for dark horses like Mark Warner and Bill Richardson. The heir apparent has a major flaw in her persona and these guys can capture hearts and minds like maybe a certain governor from a southern moderate state did about 14 years ago…
This entry was posted on Monday, August 7th, 2006 and is filed under Elections, Polls. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 7th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
I don’t know how this can be construed as good news for any centrists. It suggests to me more of the same purge that Joe Lieberman is facing.
The prospective candidates that sentiments of this sort would actually help would seem to be those running to the left including Russ Feingold, John Edwards, and (presumably) Howard Dean.
August 8th, 2006 at 12:46 am
I don’t think it’s a matter of “mending fences”. It’s actually about fences — the fences that surround her advocates/boosters and her critics/detractors. And fences is the wrong word even then. Those are not fences so much as they are thick and high walls; enduring ones. No one is going through or around them. Nothing she can say or do as long as she is the center of attention will matter any more. Isn’t that much patently obvious?
Hillary has had nearly twenty years to project images that are seared into the minds of all who’ve paid even only slight attention to politics and power.
August 8th, 2006 at 12:57 am
It’s my belief that Hillary is polling poorly because she’s made more of a shift towards the middle instead of truly being in the middle. She’s seen as a political opportunist, somebody who’ll do anything to get elected President.
And come on Dave, the New Hampshirites aren’t going to back Russ Feingold or Howard Dean. Perhaps John Edwards, but I think he’s out of this one frankly.
I agree, and apparently those images are not good. Still, do I think she could patch things up? Sure. Do I think she can patch things up enough to win the Oval Office? Nope. That’s why I think she’s ultimately a weak candidate.
August 8th, 2006 at 8:36 am
I only offer a picture to encapsulate my feelings about Hillary. See http://eclecticfloridian.blogspot.com/2006/02/democrats-please-dont-run-this-person.html
August 13th, 2006 at 2:28 am
Oh…a bad pic of Hillary.
Please…don’t waste our time EF.
November 14th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
good site