HILLARY FADES – AT 10:24 A.M. ET: The party is turning on her. The talk show guys are turning on her. And the public seems to be turning on her. From Rasmussen:
Growing national security questions about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server during her time as secretary of State are drowning out much of her message as a presidential candidate and causing many of her fellow Democrats to worry about the future of her campaign. Is it time for Clinton to put her campaign on temporary hold?
Voters are almost evenly divided on that question: the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Clinton should suspend her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination until all of the legal questions about her use of the private e-mail server are resolved. Nearly as many (44%) disagree. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Even one-in-four Democrats (24%) agree that the front-runner for their party’s nomination should suspend her campaign for the time being. But that compares to 73% of Republicans and 46% of voters not affiliated with either major party.
Forty-five percent (45%) of all voters - but only 18% of Democrats - now consider the national security questions raised about Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server while serving as secretary of State to be a serious scandal. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of likely voters consider the matter an embarrassing situation, while nearly as many (23%) say it’s no big deal.
At the same time, Vice President Joe Biden is reportedly moving closer to a decision whether to challenge Clinton for the Democratic nomination because of her e-mail woes. Our latest Hillary Meter shows the former first lady losing ground noticeably among voters, but Democrats weren’t overly enthusiastic about a Biden run earlier this month.
COMMENT: The numbers for Clinton get worse and worse, and we're only in August of the year before the election. Obviously, if she's exonerated by the e-mail investigation, she might get back on track. But the perception is that she's a weakened candidate who arouses little passion.
And yet, Rasmussen's warning about Joe Biden should also be taken seriously. The hard base wants Elizabeth Warren but the hard base doesn't win elections.
August 25, 2015 |