Rasmussen: "Electability and Hillary Clinton"

[SaveElmer]

Probably the most frequently asked question about Hillary Clinton's candidacy for President is can she win the general election with an unfavorable rating above 45%? The conventional wisdom has been that it will be very difficult, but newly released data from Rasmussen Reports suggests that she may well be a more formidable candidate than many commentators and pundits believe.

First, it is important to note that all the Democrats have negative ratings in excess of 40%. To be sure, Senator Clinton's at 49% is slightly higher than Senator Obama (45%) and Senator Edwards (41%). But in a polarized country with a polarized electorate, high negative ratings for leading Democratic and Republican candidates should not be surprising.

This same trend was certainly evident in the 2000 and 2004 elections.

Rasmussen asked a national sample of 1,000 voters how likely it is that Clinton, Obama, or Edwards would win the election were they nominated for President. Overall, three quarters (75%) of Democrats said Clinton was likely to win, vs 73% for Edwards and 69% for Obama.

Moreover, the Rasmussen data show that there is greater confidence among Democrats vis a vis Clinton than for either Edwards or Obama. Overall, 41% of Democrats said Clinton was very likely to win the White House if nominated vs 26% for Obama and 24% for Edwards.

Moreover, Senator Clinton leads all her prospective opponents in both the Rasmussen daily Presidential Tracking Poll and compilation prepared by Real Clear Politics. She has opened up what appears to be a commanding lead in the nominating process, according to the national and state by state estimates prepared by RCP.

And while it is far too early to make any definite judgments, it is hard not to conclude that Senator Clinton's position has only gotten stronger over the first eight months of 2007.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/electability_and_hillary_clinton

[Captain Hilts]

1. In one survey 23% were 'aware' of her, but had no opinion. So, her #s aren't as hard...

as we thought.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. Wow! That's really going out on a limb!

I'm not sure I understood all of it but it sure sounds optimistic in excess!!

[glarius]

3. Gallup poll says she is the most admired woman in America.

I heard that a couple of times in the last couple of days on CNN. They were talking about the money raising shindig Oprah Winfrey had at her estate for Obama. In talking about it they said that according to a recent Gallup poll Oprah was the 2nd most admired woman in America and No. one is Hilary. I don't understand why everyone keeps saying she is devisive etc. if this is so. I have seen her several times on Letterman and she comes across as having a great sense of humour and a wonderful laugh. I don't see how the commentators can keep saying she's not likeable. ???????