Jim Kouri
New poll: Americans say Sen. Hillary Clinton frightens them
By Jim Kouri
A recent poll reveals that out of the group of politicians who are regarded as contenders for nomination as presidential candidates, more Americans fear Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) than any other contender — Democrat or Republican.
According to a just-released Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, when asked which candidate frightens you the most, 36% told pollsters Sen. Hillary Clinton. The closest to Clinton's 36% number was former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani with 17% of Americans saying he frightens them.
Lower on the list with single digits were former Vice President and loser 2000 presidential candidate Al Gore with 8% and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) with 4%.
Clinton had the highest "fright" rating among Republicans, at 58%. Independents also feared Clinton 2-1 over Giuliani, 25% to 12%. Among Democrats, Clinton came in as the second most feared candidate, trailing former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani by just 7 points. The poll was conducted with a sample of 900 Americans made up of 42 percent Democrats, 34 percent Republicans and 19 percent Independents. The poll has a plus or minus 3 point accuracy.
And apparently it isn't conservatives alone who are fearful of Sen. Clinton. During her appearances for organizations representing the Democrat Party's base — the anti-war, hard-left — Clinton is being booed and shouted down by her one time soulmates. Her attempt to appeal to center-right voters has created disdain among those who actually believe she's not a socialist in disguise.
In an attempt to sway the far-left into supporting her, Sen. Clinton loudly accused conservative columnist and author of the new book "Godless" Ann Coulter of being meanspirited and heartless towards women for Coulter's comments regarding four of the 9-11 women who lost loved ones and are now cashing in on their celebrity.
Coulter points out in her book that there is a small number of women who are "capitalizing" on their loss to access the news media with their political views. She calls such people "human shields for the liberal-left" and members of the news media.
But then Clinton backed off when Coulter said during TV and radio interviews and in a recent column that if Hillary Clinton wants to denigrate someone for being mean and heartless towards women, she should have a chat with her rapist husband. According to one source, Clinton's staff advised her to drop the anti-Coulter diatribes because they do more to hurt Clinton than they hurt Coulter by bringing up the allegations that Bill Clinton raped and molested women.
There are other reasons why the left-wing of her party has turned on Hillary. For instance, the big buzz a few weeks ago in New York was the news that media mogul Rupert Murdoch is planning to hold a fundraiser for Senator Clinton. Murdoch is the owner of Fox News Channel, considered a right-leaning news organization, and the New York Post, a decidely conservative newspaper.
Although Mrs Clinton is busy raising money for her re-election to the US Senate this year, she's been laying the groundwork for a presidential bid in 2008.
The idea that Murdoch — a stalwart supporter of President Bush and the Republican Party — may assist her in that bid has caused outcry among Liberals, some of whom are already suspicious of Mrs. Clinton's centrist positioning.
On the other hand, many conservatives believe that Murdoch is not a conservative, but a smart businessman who knows that allowing conservative voices to be heard is just good business.
While the Clinton camp dismisses the Fox/Opinions Dynamic poll as "right-wing," she's been polling poorly this year in matchups with Republican candidates. In a Zogby poll, Clinton loses to Sen. McCain 54% — 39%, and to Rudy Guiliani 52% — 39%. The only candidate she beat in that poll was Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is an unlikely candidate unless his brother the president experiences a surge in his poll numbers.
While the news media — Hillary's pro-bono public relations firm — will continue to support her, among the Democrat base she's nowhere near Sen. Russ Feingold in popularity. And conservatives and some moderates know she's a bigger flip-flopper than her friend Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).
© Jim Kouri
A recent poll reveals that out of the group of politicians who are regarded as contenders for nomination as presidential candidates, more Americans fear Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) than any other contender — Democrat or Republican.
According to a just-released Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, when asked which candidate frightens you the most, 36% told pollsters Sen. Hillary Clinton. The closest to Clinton's 36% number was former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani with 17% of Americans saying he frightens them.
Lower on the list with single digits were former Vice President and loser 2000 presidential candidate Al Gore with 8% and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) with 4%.
Clinton had the highest "fright" rating among Republicans, at 58%. Independents also feared Clinton 2-1 over Giuliani, 25% to 12%. Among Democrats, Clinton came in as the second most feared candidate, trailing former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani by just 7 points. The poll was conducted with a sample of 900 Americans made up of 42 percent Democrats, 34 percent Republicans and 19 percent Independents. The poll has a plus or minus 3 point accuracy.
And apparently it isn't conservatives alone who are fearful of Sen. Clinton. During her appearances for organizations representing the Democrat Party's base — the anti-war, hard-left — Clinton is being booed and shouted down by her one time soulmates. Her attempt to appeal to center-right voters has created disdain among those who actually believe she's not a socialist in disguise.
In an attempt to sway the far-left into supporting her, Sen. Clinton loudly accused conservative columnist and author of the new book "Godless" Ann Coulter of being meanspirited and heartless towards women for Coulter's comments regarding four of the 9-11 women who lost loved ones and are now cashing in on their celebrity.
Coulter points out in her book that there is a small number of women who are "capitalizing" on their loss to access the news media with their political views. She calls such people "human shields for the liberal-left" and members of the news media.
But then Clinton backed off when Coulter said during TV and radio interviews and in a recent column that if Hillary Clinton wants to denigrate someone for being mean and heartless towards women, she should have a chat with her rapist husband. According to one source, Clinton's staff advised her to drop the anti-Coulter diatribes because they do more to hurt Clinton than they hurt Coulter by bringing up the allegations that Bill Clinton raped and molested women.
There are other reasons why the left-wing of her party has turned on Hillary. For instance, the big buzz a few weeks ago in New York was the news that media mogul Rupert Murdoch is planning to hold a fundraiser for Senator Clinton. Murdoch is the owner of Fox News Channel, considered a right-leaning news organization, and the New York Post, a decidely conservative newspaper.
Although Mrs Clinton is busy raising money for her re-election to the US Senate this year, she's been laying the groundwork for a presidential bid in 2008.
The idea that Murdoch — a stalwart supporter of President Bush and the Republican Party — may assist her in that bid has caused outcry among Liberals, some of whom are already suspicious of Mrs. Clinton's centrist positioning.
On the other hand, many conservatives believe that Murdoch is not a conservative, but a smart businessman who knows that allowing conservative voices to be heard is just good business.
While the Clinton camp dismisses the Fox/Opinions Dynamic poll as "right-wing," she's been polling poorly this year in matchups with Republican candidates. In a Zogby poll, Clinton loses to Sen. McCain 54% — 39%, and to Rudy Guiliani 52% — 39%. The only candidate she beat in that poll was Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is an unlikely candidate unless his brother the president experiences a surge in his poll numbers.
While the news media — Hillary's pro-bono public relations firm — will continue to support her, among the Democrat base she's nowhere near Sen. Russ Feingold in popularity. And conservatives and some moderates know she's a bigger flip-flopper than her friend Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).
© Jim Kouri
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