New Pew Poll: Lots Of Goodies
Plenty to chew over in this wide-ranging Pew Poll. Some highlights:
78% of Republicans say there is a good or some chance they would vote for Rudy, vs. 65% for McCain. Rudy’s favorables continue to impress:
The comments about Rudy Giuliani show that he draws on a deep well of positive feeling about his performance as New York City’s mayor on 9/11. One respondent says that Giuliani “pulled everybody together when 9/11 came around.” Another describes him as a “hero” in New York. Specific references to 9/11 were mentioned by 21% of those who recognized his name. More general references to the city and to his time as mayor are made by 22%, and many of these are very positive as well, with comments such as “was a good mayor” and “I think he cleaned up New York.” Hardly any mentions of his leadership on 9/11 or his service as mayor are explicitly negative, but references to New York and 9/11 are as prevalent among people who say there is no chance they will vote for him as among those who say there is a good chance.
Giuliani also is lauded by many respondents as a strong leader (7%) and someone who is capable and courageous. There are many other positive but more general mentions such as “good man” and “great.”
Hillary, however, doesn’t fare so well:
Comments about Hillary Clinton range very widely across a variety of topics and include many strongly positive and negative references. The most frequent references are to her husband and aspects of his presidency including the Monica Lewinsky scandal (19% of all respondents). Bill Clinton is both a political negative and a positive for his wife; many who mention President Clinton say there is no chance they will vote for Clinton (22%), but nearly as many (16%) say there is a good chance they will vote for the senator.
Clinton draws a variety of highly negative comments (10% overall, and 22% of those who say there is no chance they will vote for her), including “phony,” “sneaky,” “way too feminist,” “backstabber,” and “she-devil.” Positive comments about her tend to be equally strongly expressed, with a number of references to her intelligence (6%) and toughness (5%), and many more of a general nature (9% “good,” “great” and the like) or scattered across many areas (6%, including “determined,” “motivated,” “tolerant,” and the like).
Hillary is going to just have to deal with her high negatives, because they aren’t likely to get any better. It’s a significant handicap in her bid…
Her greatest hurdle, and Obama’s greatest advantage. I agree with you completely. Nearly 100% of people have their minds made up about her, so it’s incumbent on her not just to swing people who are on the fence, but to swing people who at this point say that they actively don’t like her.
I’ve said before that I find her to be shrill and schoolmarm-ish (in that she makes me feel as if I’m back in 3rd grade and just got caught whispering to my desk neighbor). I’ve talked with others, lefties and righties, who say similar things.
The other night at the conclusion of Britt Hume’s show on Fox, he showed a clip of Hillary at an event where she was to lead the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to some guy who was on stage with her. She made a rather self-deprecating joke about how bad her voice and singing were and then lead the song while, poorly, covering her microphone with her hand. Softened her image abit for me. She needs to do more of that – especially when speaking on policy and position topics – and the negatives will diminish.
Her podium presence reminds me of Ted Kennedy’s during his run for the White House (oh these many years ago) in that she comes across as shrill and carpy – Ted was always yelling (or do they call it projecting?).
I thin Rudy get’s high marks for being a doer. He flattened the mob. He flattened the squeegee men. After the WTC was flattened, he was right there, almost getting flattened himself.
His social behavior aside….so he got divorced. Hillary should be divorced but since she is so calculating, she stayed with him, even after she marched onto the Today Show and pronounced The Vast RIght Wing Cnspiracy was behind it all. Is that OK? I guess if it’s OK with her it’s OK with me, but she is as immoral for not taking a stand when her husband was getting hummers in the oval office. What will she take a stand on? He embarrassed her worldwide. Lorena Bobbit is surley dissapointed.
And about those hummers: We routinely run CEO’s and others out of town for diddling subordinates, especially interns who have a special protected status as being under care of the organization. Why does he get a pass from the world, and his wife? I think Clarece Thomas is a boob, but if he is pilloried over unfounded allegations which the left tried to keep qiuet, souldn’t Bill be pilloried as well? I would think the Leader of the Free World, the most powerful man in the world, receiving hummers from an intern, would be considered somewhat coersive by nature of the their positions.
Sorry for the rant!
There is no more extreme example of a contradiction between beliefs and action than that of Bill’s admitted behavior with Monica (and alleged with other women) and the Left’s – especially the feminists – continued embrace of him as their hero. But to me, Hillary’s reactions & actions in the face of all that are unassailable. She made her choice, for whatever reasons, to stay with him. I see no harm, personally or politically, in that.
I sometimes wonder if I’m the only person on the planet who doesn’t have especially strong feelings about Hillary Clinton one way or the other. In terms of policies, she’s no more objectionable to me than any number of other Democrats; I don’t see her as this cartoonish crypto-commie of caricature. The only thing I have against her as a person is her ambition seems a little more naked then most pols; it’s not too often you see a politician go hunting for a state to represent. But just about anyone who runs for preseint is a bit nutty in the ambition department, as far as I’m concerned.
And on the flip side, I don’t see why so many on the left have rallied to her cause, even if they seem to be doing so out of duty. I guess this is the closest they can get to voting for Bill Clinton again, and there’s the thrill some may have of voting for a woman, but just as I don’t understand those who loathe her, I can’t understand why so many view her as the best person for the job. She’s been a reasonably good senator, but there are dozens of other reasonably good senators.
Mike, are you trying to imply that Bill Clinton wasn’t pilloried for the Lewinsky thing?
Fargus: You beat me to the punch…
TMS: There is no disconnect in the left’s position. They want the government out of people’s bedrooms/sex lives, especially the feminists.
Hillary is calculating? Are you kidding me? What politician isn’t?
All “Hounds of Hell” – 6 of one, and half Dozen of the other.
I’ll pass on them all, and don’t know anyone who will vote for any of them is this Conservative countryside in Texas.
No way. Bill Clinton’s behavior, by anyone else, would have been attacked by the feminist left as predatory, misogynist, sexual harrassment. They hid behind the consenting adults defense and made Monica (and Kenneth Starr and the GOP) out to be the bad guy.
TMS: Who have the feminists attacked in this manner? Do you see them endlessly typing about Rudy’s affair? Seriously, show me some evidence.
Clarence Thomas, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Robert Packwood — do you need more examples mikebdot?