By Dave Andrusko
Pro-abortion Hillary Clinton
The headline in a story in today’s Washington Post–“Hillary Clinton’s image continues to decline” –dramatically underscores Hillary Clinton’s plummeting popular but also underestimates just how bad a few months it’s been for the former Secretary of State. (Note to self: the same story, written by Peyton M. Craighill and Scott Clement, makes clear that the polls results show that Vice President Joe Biden is no Plan B for Democrats.)
Since this is the last post of the day, let me cut to the key conclusions. Craighill and Clement write
Let’s start with the bad news for Clinton. Fully, 53 percent have an unfavorable impression of her, the highest since April 2008 in Post-ABC surveys. That mark is eight percentage points higher than in July, though not as far from a Post-ABC poll in late May (49 percent). Intense views also run clearly against Clinton, with almost twice as many having a “strongly unfavorable” view of her (39 percent) as “strongly favorable” (21 percent).
There is lots and lots more. Lots about Biden’s limited appeal and how
Clinton’s image is surprisingly weak among some core groups that helped elect Barack Obama, including younger Americans and women. Her ratings are 48 percent favorable to 51 percent unfavorable among women. Biden draws a similar 45 percent favorable-45 percent unfavorable split among women.
But let me make just two points about what the first quote tells us.
#1. As Hotair’s Ed Morrisey observed, the highest unfavorability number in seven years is no coincidence. Seven years ago
was also the last time that Hillary Clinton had a shot at the presidency, too, and the long campaign eroded her standing with American voters.
In a word, Mrs. Clinton does not grow on voters. The more they focus on her, the more her numbers drop.
#2. The intensity factor is there alright–but in the wrong direction for Mrs. Clinton. It is incredible. Nearly twice as many people hold a strongly unfavorable view of her (39%) as “strongly favorable” (21%).
That doesn’t mean she won’t be the Democratic nominee–the odds are overwhelming that she will be–or that she cannot beat a pro-life Republican, regardless of how wary the public is of her.
It does tell us that Mrs. Clinton is a deeply flawed candidate who is long past the point of a being able to successfully makeover her image.