Who cares what they think?
by digby
So I keep reading that Hillary Clinton is hugely unpopular now. And yet there’s this from this week’s Washington Post poll:
The poll brings into perspective the popularity of candidates on the Democratic side, too. Hillary Rodham Clinton has ticked back up slightly, moving from a net negative position in May of 45-49 favorable-unfavorable to a net positive position of 52-45 favorable-unfavorable.
Bernie Sanders, the independent socialist Vermont senator making a run for the Democratic nomination, is largely unknown at this point with ratings that split 27 percent favorable to 28 percent unfavorable. A 45 percent plurality are unable to rate him. Sanders has generated a lot of intensity from the furthest left wings of the Democratic party, with rallies attended by thousands on college campuses.
Sanders has gained ground in New Hampshire and Iowa according to some recent statewide polls, but he still trails Clinton by very wide margins in national popularity. Even among his supposed base of liberal Democrats, Clinton’s favorable ratings are nearly twice as high as Sanders — 86 percent favorable for Clinton to 48 percent for Sanders. In fact, Clinton’s strongly favorable ratings are equal to Sanders’s overall favorable ratings among liberal Democrats.
Whatever. Polling is pretty much useless right now for anything but measuring the momentary popularity of the freak show.
But there is one little thing that strikes me as being very interesting as I observe all the ostentatious pearl clutching about Clinton’s inherent weakness:
Clinton, who has highlighted the possibility of becoming the first female president in U.S. history, is far more popular among Democratic women than men, by almost 20 points
Huh. That seems a little bit odd. But what difference does it make, amirite? After all, there’s no electoral advantage to having women enthusiastic about her:
According to Gallup polls, the gender gap in the last five presidential elections has averaged 15.8 points. In 2012 it was the highest they’ve measured at 20 points; Barack Obama trailed Mitt Romney by 8 points among men but led him by 12 points among women (exit polls put the gap at a slightly lower 18 points). If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee in 2016, it will almost certainly be even higher.
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