#unfavorability

[odinsblog]

(by Jeffrey M. Jones)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Hillary Clinton’s image has declined since June and is now the worst Gallup has measured for her to date. Her favorable rating has fallen five percentage points since June to a new low of 36%, while her unfavorable rating has hit a new high of 61%.

Throughout 2016, her favorable ratings were generally around 40%, among the worst ever measured for presidential candidates but more positive than Donald Trump’s ratings.

Many political experts, and likely the Clintons themselves, thought Bill and Hillary Clinton would be residing in the White House in 2017. But Hillary Clinton’s surprise defeat in the 2016 election ended their careers as elected officials. The year away from politics has not caused Americans to view either in a more positive light; in fact, the opposite has occurred with Bill Clinton’s ratings the worst in 16 years and Hillary Clinton’s the worst Gallup has measured to date.

Rather than looking favorably upon their more than 25 years of public service, the past year has been filled with second guessing of the 2016 Clinton campaign strategy and continued allegations of unethical or illegal behavior on Hillary Clinton’s part during her time in public service and as a presidential candidate. In addition, the focus on sexual harassment this year has caused some, including Democrats, to question the way Bill Clinton’s supporters responded to past allegations that he mistreated women.

(source: Gallop)

[odinsblog]

8 years later and it’s still a question of electability and favorability. And which candidate will be able to inspire more undecided and moderate independents to vote for them.

Q: Has she been truthful to voters about what she would do as president?

Obama: No.

Q: Will she get Republicans to turn out against her?

Obama: That I do think is likely, certainly that’s what the Republican National Committee will try to do, to use her once again as this poster child for all that’s bad about Democrats.

Now, the Republican National Committee, they’re going to have a tough job no matter what. They’ve got a bad environment and so they’re going to be undoubtedly running a negative campaign against whoever the Democratic nominee is. 

But I am absolutely convinced, as somebody who represents a new generation of leadership and takes a new tone and a different language into the general election, that I’ve got the capacity to attract independents and Republicans in a way that she can’t do.

Q: Does Mrs. Clinton have electability problems?

Obama: I think it is fair to say that if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, then we have a repetition of 2000 and 2004.

There’s no change in the political map. I’m not making predictions specifically about which way Ohio or Florida will go, but what you do know is that 45 percent of the country will be on one side and 45 percent of the country will be on the other. There will be 10 percent of the country, all of them apparently living in Ohio and Florida, and that will be the model for what I call this 50 plus 1 strategy. There’s not going to be an expansion of the electorate. I don’t think anybody would claim that Senator Clinton is going to inspire a horde of new voters.

I don’t think it’s realistic that she is going to get a whole bunch of Republicans to think differently about her.

(read the full NYTimes interview »here)

[pewresearch]

As the June 30 deadline for negotiations over its nuclear program approaches, our new poll finds that attitudes toward Iran are mostly negative worldwide. Majorities or pluralities in 31 of 40 countries surveyed hold an unfavorable opinion of the Islamic Republic.