Democratic debate: Can anyone disrupt the Hillary vs. Bernie show?
Democratic debate: Can anyone disrupt the Hillary vs. Bernie show?
Christian Science Monitor
By Linda Feldmann, Staff writer OCTOBER 12, 2015
“There has been a strange disconnect between Clinton and Democratic voters and a sense of resignation, rather than excitement, about her candidacy,” writes David Axelrod, former top political adviser to President Obama.
“Whatever else you think about him, [Vermont Senator] Sanders is utterly authentic. And right now, that is Clinton's challenge,” adds Mr. Axelrod, now director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago. “It has been exacerbated by her clumsy, ever-evolving approach to the email issue – something certain to come up again in the debate – and her rapid-fire race to the left to co-opt Sanders' positions on trade, climate change and other issues that fire up the Democratic base.”
Axelrod’s analysis suggests that it may be too late for Clinton to change voters’ views of her. She can’t undo the decision to use a private e-mail server as secretary of State, and her bungled response to questions about that practice. She’s also highly unlikely (at least while a candidate) to rethink her newfound opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline and the major Pacific Rim trade deal that she supported while it was in the works.
In particular, it may be difficult for Clinton to boost her poor rating among voters on honesty and trustworthiness. Only 35 percent of voters (of all political stripes) see her positively on those qualities, according to the latest CBS News poll. And unlike most other candidates in the race, Clinton is widely known to the American public, thus making it hard to change impressions.
= new reply since forum marked as read
