In the just-released Quinnipiac poll, referenced in the previous blog, respondents were asked “What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of Hillary Clinton?”
Here is every answer that received 10 or more mentions:
Liar: 178, Dishonest: 123, Untrustworthy: 93, Experience: 82, Strong: 59, Bill: 56, Woman: 47, Smart: 31, Crook: 21, Untruthful: 19, Criminal: 18, Deceitful: 18, Democrat: 16, Intelligent: 15, Email: 14, Politician: 13, Benghazi: 12, Corrupt: 12, Crooked: 11, Capable: 10, Determined: 10, Good: 10
Let\’s put them in three categories:
-Positives: Experienced, Strong, Woman (might not always be a positive reference, but I am assuming it is most of the time), Smart, Intelligent, Capable, Determined, Good;
-Negatives: Liar, Dishonest, Untrustworthy, Crook, Untruthful, Criminal, Deceitful, Corrupt, Crooked.
-Neutral responses: Bill (a reference to her husband, which can be positive or negative, no way to tell), Democrat (ditto), Email (might simply be knowledge of the issue, not necessarily negative), Politician (would describe any candidate), and Benghazi (as with Email, might simply be knowledge of the issue).
Now, let\’s add the positives and negatives, to see where Ms. Clinton stands:
-Positive total: 264
-Negative total: 493
Remember, again, that these were not pre-determined answers which respondents picked from, they were answers which respondents came up with entirely on their own.
Assuming the data are accurate, do they make Hillary Clinton look inevitable to you? Somehow I doubt it.
Oh, and in case you\’re wondering how Donald Trump makes out in the same question, here are the results (positives are in italics, negatives are underlined, neutrals are left as is):
Arrogant: 58, Blowhard: 38, Idiot: 35, Businessman: 34, Clown: 34, Honest: 30, Ego: 29, Money: 29, Outspoken: 28, Crazy: 26, Rich: 26, Showman: 23, Strong: 20, Asshole: 18, Joke: 16, Loud: 16, Leader: 15 Pompous: 15, Bombastic: 13, Egomaniac: 13, Loudmouth: 13, Racist: 13, Big-mouth: 12, Aggressive: 11, Buffoon: 11, Unfavorable: 11, Braggart: 10, Brash: 10
That comes to:
-Positive total: 65
-Negative total: 372
Assuming these data are accurate, this shows me, again, that Trump\’s overall ratings are not because people like him or think he is presidential, they are because people are reacting well to his straight talk; to the fact that he doesn\’t spend most of the time using weasel words to cover his backside. For a great many people – probably most, in my opinion – this has almost no likelihood of translating into votes in a general election.
One other thing: Please use the link I\’ve provided at the beginning of this blog and look at the entire range of findings, very much including the summary, which is shown before the tabular data. It is well worth your while.
