TIME Poll: Clinton More Beatable than Obama
Though the real election is nine months away, Sen. Barack Obama would fare slightly better than Sen. Hillary Clinton in a head to head match-up with Sen. John McCain if the general election were held today, a new TIME poll reveals.
The new Time magazine poll is catching a lot of media attention today. The specifics have already been front-paged, but what the pundits and pols seem totally incapable of understanding is that everyone already knows this.
Absolutely no one should be surprised that early polls will show Clinton as more beatable than Obama. But this simply doesn't change the fact that both Democrats are perfectly poised to win by a landslide in November.
It's no secret that I am an unabashed Obama supporter, so I'll just state it outright.
Hillary's greatest weakness, and she has known this for years, is how polarizing a figure she is. It cannot simply be blamed on her last name. Throughout the 90's she was vilified by the Republican party. On everything from HillaryCare to the use of her maiden name, everything Hillary did represented exactly what a First Lady shouldn't be to the far-right. It's silly and unfair, but it is what it is. The right wing of the Republican party doesn't just dislike her, they actually believe she is evil and will destroy this country. If Hillary is our nominee, A fairly sizable chuck of Republicans will come out to vote just to vote against her. Obama simply doesn't have this problem. Of course he doesn't. Is anyone surprised that Rush Limbaugh actually said this yesterday:
Should I do my part, not by joining my liberal friends in the Republican Party, but actually raising money for Mrs. Clinton, and asking you to join me, so that she would have a chance here to once again have a good shot at getting a Democrat nomination so that we win the White House?
...the reason for raising money for Hillary is because that apparently my party is relying on fear and loathing of Hillary to get the nomination, to unite Republicans, who are, some of them, off the reservation. The Republicans do not seem to be relying on leadership in their party to unite the party.
All of a sudden those annoying "Impeach Hillary" bumper stickers still floating around on old pick-up trucks will be sadly ironic.
But guess what? It doesn't matter. Is Hillary "more beatable" than Obama? I guess, if by "more beatable" you mean, "will win by a smaller margin." Because guess what? Neither Hillary nor Obama will lose in November. Obama's obvious strengths have been diaried again and again, so I will summarize by saying he is inspiring to a huge portion of this country, and few Democrats will choose to stay home just because he's the nominee. This election is too damn important.
And, sorry republicans, Hillary is a political juggernaut. You can forget about the money advantage over McCain. Forget about the coming Rush-sponsored anti-Hillary flood. Forget about the polls that show McCain anywhere near a Democratic rival. The current speculation that McCain will be even remotely competitive is downright silly. To us, he represents more of the same. To the political-right, he is the worst kind of RINO. To the far-right, he is a Godless liberal. To the Republican establishment, he is an uncontrollable factor. His base of support is shaky at best. What am I saying? Does the guy even have a "base?"
And us? We are on fire!!! No matter who you're supporting, Hillary or Obama (or Edwards, etc), the desire for a dramatic change is palpable. This is the only thing you have to remember:
[Super Tuesday:]
Obama/Clinton voters: 14,460,149
McCain/Romney/Huckabee voters: 8,367,694
Or, 73% more Democratic voters than Republican voters.
Our organization is too large, our foot soldiers are too busy, and our desire for change is too strong for any, ANY Republican candidate get in our way.
So please, I don't want to hear anything else about Hillary being "unelectable." It's wrong and it's tired.
Oh, and GO OBAMA!!!
UPDATE: Another good point made in the comments... There's been a lot of pundit speculation about a long, drawn-out fight leading to the Democratic Convention. Can they not see, even this fight works to our benefit?
We have the wonderful luxury of picking the candidate we like the most, unlike the Republicans who are picking the candidate they hate the least. It's an important distinction. When we finally have our nominee, they will be glowing. If it's Hillary, she can ride the inevitability argument all the way to 1600. If it's Obama, he will have walked away the winner in a fight with the strongest political family in a generation. Either way, we will dominate the media. As McCain desperately tries to find people to fund his campaign, the country will be learning more and more about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
When the convention actually hits, it will be the ultimate cherry on top of a year-in-the-making media sundae.