Donald Trump is the gift that keeps on giving — to the Democratic Party and front-runner Hillary Clinton.
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Clinton, as the ever more likely Democratic presidential nominee, should be facing a difficult path to the presidency. Americans polled in 2015 showed a slight Republican preference when asked if they’d vote for a Republican or Democrat for president in 2016. Also, economic recovery following the 2008 crash was weak. More than 60% of Americans believe we’re headed in the wrong direction.
Many voters seem in the mood for change after two terms of President Obama. Clinton, a prominent political insider for 30 years, is also a former member of the Obama administration. There is no way she could be considered a candidate of change, try as she might to make that case based on her gender.
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In this context, a strong Republican front-runner, with well thought out positions on America’s challenges, would have an excellent chance of defeating Clinton in November. Even in the primary season, such a candidate would provide an unflattering comparison for Clinton.
Instead the GOP has Trump, who spouts inchoate stream-of-consciousness rage in place of thoughtful policy pronouncements. As he wins contest after contest, he’s a godsend to Clinton in many ways.
He also has some of the same political problems as Clinton — except exponentially worse. For instance, though Trump is popular with a segment of the GOP, he has the highest unfavorable rating of any candidate for president since Gallup began collecting data.
[Wow. I knew they were bad, I did not know they were that bad.]
Trump, in many ways, is the weakest of the GOP presidential candidates. Ted Cruz (with the second largest number of Republican convention delegates) has significantly better national favorability ratings than Trump. In a hypothetical race with Clinton, polling has consistently shown Trump losing by a wide margin,* whereas Clinton vs. Cruz shows a much tighter race — with some recent polling even showing Cruz as winner.
*"The poll shows that Trump, who frequently boasts in interviews and campaign appearances that he would beat Clinton in November, would lose a one-on-one contest against her by double digits. In a head-to-head fight, Clinton gets the support of 51 percent of registered voters compared to 38 percent for the real estate mogul." NBC News, March 9, NBC/WSJ poll conducted March 3-6.
...
Clinton, as the ever more likely Democratic presidential nominee, should be facing a difficult path to the presidency. Americans polled in 2015 showed a slight Republican preference when asked if they’d vote for a Republican or Democrat for president in 2016. Also, economic recovery following the 2008 crash was weak. More than 60% of Americans believe we’re headed in the wrong direction.
Many voters seem in the mood for change after two terms of President Obama. Clinton, a prominent political insider for 30 years, is also a former member of the Obama administration. There is no way she could be considered a candidate of change, try as she might to make that case based on her gender.
...
In this context, a strong Republican front-runner, with well thought out positions on America’s challenges, would have an excellent chance of defeating Clinton in November. Even in the primary season, such a candidate would provide an unflattering comparison for Clinton.
Instead the GOP has Trump, who spouts inchoate stream-of-consciousness rage in place of thoughtful policy pronouncements. As he wins contest after contest, he’s a godsend to Clinton in many ways.
He also has some of the same political problems as Clinton — except exponentially worse. For instance, though Trump is popular with a segment of the GOP, he has the highest unfavorable rating of any candidate for president since Gallup began collecting data.
[Wow. I knew they were bad, I did not know they were that bad.]
Trump, in many ways, is the weakest of the GOP presidential candidates. Ted Cruz (with the second largest number of Republican convention delegates) has significantly better national favorability ratings than Trump. In a hypothetical race with Clinton, polling has consistently shown Trump losing by a wide margin,* whereas Clinton vs. Cruz shows a much tighter race — with some recent polling even showing Cruz as winner.
*"The poll shows that Trump, who frequently boasts in interviews and campaign appearances that he would beat Clinton in November, would lose a one-on-one contest against her by double digits. In a head-to-head fight, Clinton gets the support of 51 percent of registered voters compared to 38 percent for the real estate mogul." NBC News, March 9, NBC/WSJ poll conducted March 3-6.
