Come for the uncanny Hillary and Huma lookalikes, stay for the stilted dialogue and cringeworthy acting -- and, you know, the point:
The unsubtle message of this (long) web ad is to highlight the myriad reasons Hillary and her team would prefer to run against Donald Trump in a general election. The spot ticks down a list of Trump's profound vulnerabilities, including seat-of-his-pants policy ignorance, temperament issues, and easily-exploitable oppo attacks -- dredging up the largely dormant issue of Trump's unreleased tax returns. It also takes digs at Hillary's arrogance, unpopularity and untrustworthiness, while highlighting Trump's horrendous polling numbers. Perhaps the ad's only content misfire (I found it almost painfully awkward to watch, despite being amused by the actors they recruited to portray a scowling Mrs. Clinton and her scheming closest aide, the latter of whom is a dead ringer) was the assertion that Trump attracts the second-worst unpopularity numbers of anyone in the race. The implication is that Clinton's standing is worse, a point driven home with dramatic flair. If only that were true.
The latest NBC/WSJ poll pegs her favorable/unfavorable split at a very weak (-24), but Trump's is a cataclysmic (-41). According to polling averages, Hillary is underwater by 17 points (39/56) on this benchmark; Trump is drowning at (30/64), exactly doubling her negative split. Oh, and the guy whose campaign put together this ad? He's at (33/53) -- better than Trump by double-digits, but roughly on par with Hillary. Head-to-head, the last five Clinton vs. Cruz national polls showed Hillary up five, tied, up three, up one and up two. This averages out to roughly a two-point lead for Mrs. Clinton, well within most polling's margin of error. Those are hardly "I don't think we can stop him!" numbers against a deeply flawed opponent -- especially before the Democratic attack machine goes to work on Cruz -- but they're competitive. By contrast, the last five Clinton vs. Trump surveys have her leading by 12, 9, 10, 7 and 11 points. She hasn't trailed Trump in a single poll since early February, topping her former donor in 17 consecutive surveys, often by double digits. I'll leave you with this:
.@davidwebbshow asks Bernie Sanders supporters to describe Hillary Clinton in one word. What word would YOU use?https://t.co/HJVWPMSKrc
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) April 21, 2016
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