Why did 66% of the American population have a favorable impression of Hillary Clinton just four years ago, and only 29% have an unfavorable impression? Remember, 29% is virtually the total number of Republicans who universally oppose anything with a D in front of it. I have heard many arguments both from those on the right, as well as those advocating for Bernie Sanders, that Hillary Clinton has uniquely low unfavorable ratings due to her personality, political skills, association with the past, etc.
But the 2012 Gallup data poses a fundamental challenge to that hypothesis. No one says that she used to be a great politician and then something has happened in the last four years that dramatically changed her. She is a consistent and highly discipline politician.
So what has changed in four years?
She is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. And so, as with Barack Obama, John Kerry, Howard Dean, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Michael Dukakis, etc. she has been subjected to a consistent barrage of a wide variety of attacks attempting to drive down her numbers. I did not put “Spoiler Alert” at the top of this diary because this should be no surprise to anyone who has watched politics for a number of years. Any Democratic front-runner will be attacked on every possible combination of real, perceived, imaginary, and invented weaknesses. Remember how Al Gore was so obsessed with political ambition that if he didn’t win the Presidency in 2000 his life would be over (yes, for you young folks, that was a piece of the conventional wisdom in Washington during that election)? Remember the imaginary Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who proved that the Republicans would be willing to smear a decorated war veteran if that person was a Presidential Candidate with a D before his name?
I will gladly support whatever Presidential candidate wins the majority of pledged votes at the Democratic convention. I believe that Clinton’s demonstrated ability to battle this inevitable opposition is a strong factor in favor of her candidacy. I respect Hillary Clinton for having demonstrated the toughness and disipline to survive the attacks and still keep fighting for what she believes in. Because ultimately, this election is not about which candidate I would like to have a beer with or any other trivial distraction, it is about issues. Whether a Democrat or a Republican wins in November will have a great impact on many issues that matter: climate change, healthcare, abortion, corporate regulation, tax breaks for the wealthy, etc. No Democratic candidate is going to what exactly what I want; no President is going to get most of what he or she wants anyway; but a Democrat will achieve better outcomes across a wide array of issues than any Republican would. And that is what matters most to me.