(This caricature of Hillary Clinton was done by the inimitable DonkeyHotey.)Aside from First Lady Michelle Obama, I think one could easily argue that Hillary Clinton is perhaps the most popular woman in the United States. She was popular back in 2008, but her graceful acceptance of defeat that year and her excellent service to this nation as Secretary of State has only increased her popularity. In fact, even a third of Republicans have a favorable opinion of her and her service as Secretary of State (and I doubt that any other Democratic politician can claim as much).
This is all verified by a new ABC News/Washington Post Poll, taken between November 28th and December 2nd of a random national sample of 1,020 adults. Here are some interesting numbers from that poll (with the first number given being favorable and the second unfavorable):
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE OPINION OF HILLARY CLINTON?
General public...............66% to 28%
Men...............58% to 34%
Women...............72% to 22%
Democrats...............89% to 7%
Independents...............67% to 29%
Republicans...............34% to 60%
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE OPINION OF THE JOB SHE HAS DONE AS SECRETARY OF STATE?
General public...............68% to 22%
Men...............63% to 27%
Women...............73% to 17%
Democrats...............92% to 3%
Independents...............65% to 24%
Republicans...............40% to 50%
To those of you who are sick and tired of electoral politics after the recent long and hard presidential campaign, I apologize to you -- but with numbers like those above, the next question had to be asked.
WOULD YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE A HILLARY CLINTON CANDIDACY FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016?
General Public
support...............57%
oppose...............37%
Men
support...............49%
oppose...............44%
Women
support...............66%
oppose...............30%
Democrats
support...............82%
oppose...............15%
Independents
support...............59%
oppose...............35%
Republicans
support...............23%
oppose...............73%
There is no doubt at all that she can have the Democratic nomination if she wants it (and I increasingly believe that she does). And the Republicans would be hard-pressed to find a candidate that could give her a run for the money. Of course, that scenario is four years away, and anything could happen between now and then. But I do believe this country is ready for its first woman president -- and I can't think of a better candidate for that than Hillary Clinton.
