Funny what passes for news these days? Khloe Kardashian has a new reality show. How big is that? Really big, I guess. Donald Trump said something stupid and insulting, again! Yep, that’s news for sure.
Here’s another one: Hillary Clinton is getting stomped. Wait. What? That’s not news.
Here’s the news that isn’t, but should be. According to the same poll that was used in the over-reporting of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton isn’t doing so well. However, you wouldn’t know it by the headlines or the cable news leads.
According to a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, Hillary Clinton is losing in Iowa to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker by nine points, 45-37. She’s losing to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio by eight points, 44-36. And by six points to Jeb Bush, 42-36.
In Colorado and Virginia, the numbers are pretty much the same. She loses to all three GOP candidates by about the same spread. And when it comes to her “unfavorables,” her early report card is even worse.
Donald Trump’s “unfavorable” made big news this week as told by left-leaning journalists and academics as a sign he’ll eventually implode, but that same crowd made little or no mention of Hillary Clinton’s almost identical poor showing.
Here are Trump’s numbers in the key states of Colorado, Virginia and Iowa. In Colorado, he’s at 31 favorable compared to 58 unfavorable. In Virginia, he’s at 32 favorable compared to 61 unfavorable. And in Virginia and Iowa he’s upside down, 32 to 57.
There’s no reconciling those numbers as anything but disturbing. And it’s also kind of weird considering that he’s leading the GOP field in most national polls. But you know what? The same thing can be said of Hillary Clinton.
She too is leading the Democratic field, but a look inside the numbers reveals a troubling trend. She’s also upside down, according to Quinnipiac. In Colorado, her favorable number is at 35 compared to her unfavorable at 56. In Virginia, she’s at 41 favorable compared to 50 unfavorable. And in Iowa, she’s upside down by a whopping 13 points – favorable, unfavorable 56.
The fact is, Donald Trump may be the best thing that could have happened to Hillary Clinton’s publicity team. Why? His story has kept her story out of the headlines and it isn’t a good story right now. Imagine if not for Donald Trump, what pundits and political writers would be asking? What gives with Hillary Clinton’s campaign? Why don’t people like her?
At least, with Trump we know why he isn’t liked based on those he’s insulted. Pick his poison: Latinos, veterans, establishment Republicans, the humble, Bush backers, McCain supporters and the five people who support Lindsay Graham. (Was that mean? OK, sorry.)
But Hillary Clinton hasn’t insulted anyone and she’s doing no better than Donald Trump. Why is she turning people off to her candidacy? The reason is painfully obvious.
It’s this: despite her qualifications and her intellect, she’s a dull and unimpressive candidate. Her speeches seem over written and over acted and something about her on-air character seems fake. Bum rap? Perhaps. But that’s how she’s being perceived. And when it comes to campaigning – especially at the presidential primary level, perception is more important than reality.
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