Karl Rove claims that Hillary can not get elected, because so many people have an unfavorable opinion of her. Karl Rove thinks that he is a genius and that his words carry the weight of prophecy, however, Rove is not as bright as he pretends. If he was really smart, he would realize that Hillary is in a whole different league from the other candidates, many of whom are unknown to the majority of Americans. When you are a newbie, you have a low unfavorability rating. You also have a low recognition profile. You spend all your time trying to get people to figure out who you are, and you pray that they do not notice you for some gaffe that makes you unelectable, like a sordid extra-marital affair.
As a former first lady who played a very active roll in her husband's administration and as a current senator from New York, Hillary Clinton is more like an incumbent president, someone who is well known for a variety of things, some positive and some negative. The public does not define her by one public blunder or shining moment. They know her as a well rounded human being. It makes sense to compare her to other people whom the public knows for a variety of things--like former incumbent presidents.
Here is a summary of presidential approval ratings:
http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=10534&pg=2 Bill Clinton's highest disapproval rating was 54% in September 1994. In fact, several polls that year found at least 50% of Americans disapproving of Clinton's performance as president.
In January 1983, 56% of Americans said they disapproved of Ronald Reagan. Five polls conducted from December 1982 through February 1983 found at least 50% of Americans disapproving of Reagan.
These high disapproval ratings did not stop Clinton or Reagan from being re-elected or going on to become two of the most popular presidents in recent years. Obviously, negative opinions of extremely well known public figures do not mean the same thing as negative poll numbers of ordinary candidates.
What is the difference? Maybe, when people go to the polls they start thinking about experience versus inexperience, or the reassurance of a known quantity versus the gamble of going with something new. Hillary Clinton may have a lot of baggage from her association with Bill Clinton, but on the other hand, she brings Bill Clinton back to the White House.
For the record, I am an Edwards supporter. However, I am a yellow dog Democrat before I am anything else, and I will support our party's nominee, whoever it is. And I think that Hillary will do just fine if she is nominated, and that Karl Rove is full of it. He should remember how high his own candidate's unfavorable ratings were when he was sworn in for a second term in 2005.
53%. That is pretty damn high.
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