Is this a Christmas gift for the GOP? Despite what many pundit circles have been saying about the invulnerability of Hillary Clinton’s reported presidential ambitions, almost half the country said they weren’t going to vote for her if she ran in 2016 (via WSJ):
Hillary Clinton faces a major challenge ahead of her potential presidential campaign: 48% of Americans say they couldn’t see voting for her, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found.…
Mrs. Clinton remains the clear Democratic front-runner. Despite a small band of liberal activists clamoring for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) as a potential challenger, 82% of Democratic voters surveyed said they could see themselves voting for Mrs. Clinton, compared with 37% for Ms. Warren.
…
Meanwhile Mrs. Clinton’s grip on the Democratic electorate, for now, appeared tight. Among every segment of Democratic primary voters, at least 84% said they would consider supporting her. Only Mr. Romney managed at least 70% of any GOP demographic group.
Granted, the poll also found that roughly the other half of the country would be fine voting for Hillary, but the 48 percent figure should troubling for those who keep the Clinton political machine a well-run operation: Hillary tosses her hat into the ring and half the country won’t vote for her from the start? Moreover, 71 percent of the respondents wanted the next president to take a different approach than that of President Obama; 40 percent wished to see a Republican in the White House compared to 38 percent who wish to see another Democrat occupy the Oval Office.
Again, these polls are still only worth their weight when it comes to name identification with the electorate; there's still an eternity before both sides start stumping for votes in the primaries. Yet, the poll seems to show that while Clinton has great name ID, she’s also–unsurprisingly–incredibly polarizing. As for her reputation as a working/middle class hero, we shall see if that façade can survive attacks based on her gaffes, her speaking circuit demands, traveling expenses, and the general theme that a former president’s family’s earning potential goes through the stratosphere when they leave office.
There’s nothing wrong with a celebrity having demands for accommodations; it’s not unordinary. But when you’ve lived in the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion for ten years before living in the White House for eight, and then being a U.S. Senator and Secretary of State; it’s hard to imagine that you can sustain an image of being a populist given that your party has become the political apparatus for the rich.
Limousine liberals are easy to spot.