Cross-posted from Work It, Mom!
Yes, Hillary is ahead of her opponents in some of the polls — at the moment. And the reason she’s ahead is because more Democratic women voters favor her as a presidential candidate than any of the men of her party who are running. But take a closer look, and there’s an interesting tidbit I hadn’t focused on before.
According to a recent poll, the women who support Clinton are described as “lower-income, lesser-educated” women. In contrast, “highly educated” women are leaning toward Barack Obama, according to that same poll.
While I generally take what polls have to say with a grain of salt, especially this far out from the actual election, I’m wondering what we can glean from this about Hillary as a candidate. She’s apparently inspiring to voters between the ages of 18 and 44, but for the 45 and over category, as my seven-year-old would say, “Mmmm – not so much.”
As I mentioned before, I am not leaning toward Hillary at the moment. But that’s more because I question whether people are willing to elect her because of all the Clinton baggage rather than her positions on the issues.
No candidate running for office can be all things to all people and they do have to find a “base.” Don’t get me wrong — if Hillary is the Democratic nominee, I will be voting for her. But there is something that’s clearly not resonating with women voters who are more like her in terms of education, age and economic status. I can’t quite put my finger on it — can you?
July 10th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
I am one of those women that is leaning more toward Barack Obama than to Hillary. I want to like her but I don’t feel she’s genuine. And I think that’s why I don’t quite trust her. It’s too bad, because I really think it’s time for a woman president. But I too fear she may not be electable, which is another issue as well for me. But if she gets the nomination, I will vote for her.
July 10th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
I don’t know for certain what it is about Senator Clinton that people don’t like. I sure as heck can’t speak to why some women might not like her.
I can say this: there are only a handful of people on earth for which cottage industries have sprung up with the sole purpose of destroying that person’s reputation. Senator Clinton has been the target of some of the most vicious and vitriolic personal attacks in the history of American politics. And she’s still standing.
I’m undecided among the dems right now. But I definitely respect Senator Clinton for her personal fortitude in the face of some pretty nasty stuff.
And no, I’m not a plant for the Clinton campaign.
July 10th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
I am so UNDECIDED right now. I’m having a very hard time liking anyone. I know no candidate will ever be perfect…but with all that has been going on in this world I’m unsure of what my main focus should be. Thank goodness I’ve got a while yet to decide on a final one.
July 11th, 2007 at 12:57 am
Hi…I’m asking a few people to “guest” post on my blogs while I’m at the BlogHer Conference (I’ll be posting them starting July 24th). I was hoping you might consider doing a post for my political blog…
http://informedvoters.wordpress.com/
You would get full credit and I would link back to you. The only requirement is that you send it to me before July 23rd. If you think you would be interested just drop me an email…
catherinesblog at yahoo dot com
Thanks,
Catherine Morgan
July 11th, 2007 at 7:24 am
I think that ma great many people… and I am talking about Democrats, here, feel that Senaor Clinton is insincere. For my part, I see her as an opportunist who can’t be trusted to do the right thing when that thing might be unpopular.
July 11th, 2007 at 7:56 am
The most common theme I hear among Democrats (for full disclosure, I’m a Libertarian) when we talk about the candidates is “electability” (sp?). Most of them, Hillary-supporters or not, don’t feel she’s electable. And they almost worry about getting a candidate who will win over one that necessarily is in step with their own views.
At this time, far more of my friends are Obama supporters.
My own analysis is that Obama has had a shorter window than Hillary to piss people off. Hillary has a longer list of political baggage she must overcome to get the votes of people with long memories, whether that is fair or not.
Also, at the end of the day, there are still going to be some sexist Dems out there who won’t vote for a woman.
I agree with Gunfighter, I think she comes off as an opportunist. I would vote for Obama before Hillary any day of the week.
July 11th, 2007 at 8:38 am
It’s so interesting to hear everyone’s comments about Hillary. I hear loads of people saying similar things — is the Hillary campaign not hearing the same or are they just ignoring it?
July 11th, 2007 at 10:05 am
I read something similar to your poll a while back, and I couldn’t figure it out either.
Clinton’s camp: I don’t know if they’re ignoring it or not. But I do wonder if there is anything they can even do about it. People in my area made up their minds about her before she was even elected Senator. Sad, but true.
July 11th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
For me, it’s the war thing. While I think she’s incredibly intelligent and wonderfully qualified for the job (unlike the current occupant), I think she has a problem speaking candidly and genuinely about the issues at times. I feel like everything’s gone through the political spin machine and we’re getting carefully rehearsed soundbites. ALthough, perhaps I’m not being fair to her b/c pretty much any presidential candidate is doing the same thing. Some are just better at acting genuine.
People seem to either love her or hate her. Electability is an issue, yes, but I’ll still vote for her if she gets the nomination. In fact, I’ll even open up my wallet and put my money where my mouth is.
July 11th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I’m delurking on this one b/c I think responses so far have been so interesting! I won’t be voting for a Democrat, but as a woman, I am absolutely intrigued by Hillary and all that surrounds her. Like others have said, in addition to the political baggage that comes from having a longer, more prominant career, I simply have a hard time feeling that anything she says is truly genuine. Yes, every single candidate on the planet tests their messages – so she’s not alone there. But, like LawyerMama, I think Hillary is just not very good at making her statements and positions sound like they are truly coming from her gut/heart. I also agree w/the poster who wondered whether there is anything the Clinton camp can really do about this problem? Probably not. Over-orchestrated efforts to try to “soften” her will just appear even more disengenuous than what they are dealing with now, I think.
What simply KILLS me in all of this, is that of the over 300 million people we having living in the US, we are unable to come up with a representative number of women to join their male counter parts in both parties in the race for the White House. Really? Just the one woman, eh? UGH.
Thanks for letting me lurk and delurk – love your blog!
July 11th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
I’m personally hoping for a Clinton/Obama ticket.
David raises a great point about the level of personal attacks Hillary has endured.
Personally I think Hillary is the first female candidate who has ever had a chance in hell of winning her Party’s nomination, let alone the Presidency. That is reason enough for me to support her, since she is “close enough” to my views on most of the major issues.
If Hillary wins the nomination, and especially if she is elected POTUS, I believe all women will benefit. Even if her policies end up being middle of the road, finally having a woman in the Oval Office should go a long way towards helping women in other industries succeed as leaders–esp. if she is a good President, which I truly believe she will be.
As for why more women do not support her, I agree with Clinton’s record with regard to Iraq, but I also think many women–even relatively liberal ones–might harbor some less than feminist thoughts about a woman’s ability to lead our nation.