Ken Berwitz
Hillary Clinton hinted this week that she would treat votersto more heart and humour, in her latest effort to reboot a White House campaignunder threat from a self-declared grumpy Vermont socialist and a grievingvice-president who has yet to decide whether to enter the race.
Since June, the percentage of Democrats whosupport Mrs Clinton has slumped from 58 per cent to 37 per cent, according tothe latest CNN poll. Bernie Sanders – the Vermont senator who wasinitially viewed as having no shot but who is seen as more authentic – now has27 per cent support, while vice-president Joe Biden has 20 per cent, eventhough he has not indicated whether he will join the race as he mourns the lossof his son to cancer.
The poll also showed that voters favour BenCarson, the Republican candidate who is creeping up on Donald Trump,over Mrs Clinton by a margin of 51 to 46.
More worrying for Mrs Clinton was a separate poll suggestingvoters were not convinced that she was honest – echoing longstanding criticismsfrom rivals that the Clintons skirt the rules and have a sense of entitlement.When people polled by Quinnipiac were asked what word they most associated withMrs Clinton, the top answers were “liar”, “dishonest” and”untrustworthy”.
While Mrs Clinton has tried to draw a line under the emailscandal, Mr Sanders has taken his populist campaign across the country, drawingthe biggest crowds of any presidential candidate, including on many occasionsthose of Mr Trump.
Mrs Clinton also talks about restoring themiddle class, but it is Mr Sanders who – like Mr Trump but for differentreasons – has gained from the view that he is not beholden to wealthy donorsand Wall Street bankers.
While Mr Sanders has unnervedClinton campaign members, they are also nervous about the prospect of Mr Biden.The former Delaware senator is seen as a more natural retail politician whowears his heart on his sleeve and has more empathy with voters. He was famousfor taking the train daily from Delaware to Washington for the 36 years heserved in the Senate.
Excellent. Dispassionate, straightforward and factual.
In other words, a clear explanation of why Ms. Clinton is in so much trouble…and, by inference, why it will be so hard – maybe impossible – to extricate herself from it.
The article goes on to mention that Joe Biden was on The Late Show with Steve Colbert this week, and came across as direct and emotional – two attributes that I doubt Hillary Clinton even remembers anymore, let alone is capable of projecting to anyone but her unconditional-love supporters.
If he jumps in, as I fully expect he will, that may very well end Ms. Clinton\’s campaign. Because she will either have to:
-Avoid confrontation with Mr. Biden and Mr. Sanders, thus paving the way for her numbers, thus her credibility as a candidate, to continue falling…which would be a disaster.
-Or attack Biden and Sanders, both of whom are held very high esteem by Democrats. This will make her look desperate and angry…which would also be a disaster.
See the problem?
