Tell us something we don’t already know, New York Times:
There’s cause for concern in Hillaryland, the constellation of Democratic advisers, supporters and politicians counting on the former secretary of state to lead the party to a sweeping victory next November. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s nomination is almost a foregone conclusion, barring any unlikely legal or health issues. Democrats will offer a more coherent and unified front for the general election than the fractious Republicans.
“Unlikely”? Um…
Still, this optimism is based on the presumed weakness of the opposition, and ignores what polling suggests could be the candidate’s own vulnerabilities. The worries of some Clinton insiders are focused on the general election. There is an “enthusiasm gap.” Surveys of voters at this early stage of the campaign show that young people, independents, possibly even blacks and Hispanics are not excited about her candidacy.
To be sure, a number of women, especially middle-aged ones, are energized by the prospect of electing the first female president of the United States. That’s a strong asset.
Depends on how big that “number” is! But when your frame of reference is the Upper West Side of Manhattan…
But Mrs. Clinton has a striking problem with young voters. A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that a solid plurality of young voters has a negative view of Mrs. Clinton. She did even worse in a Bloomberg Politics national poll. Here is a result to unnerve her Brooklyn campaign headquarters: Both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton get a 60 percent favorable rating with 18-to-29-year-olds. She gets 35 percent approval and 57 percent unfavorable.
If the FBI brings criminal charges against her, which they should, they’d be doing the Democrats a favor.
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