E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS"Booming," "sky-high," and "formidable" are just a sampling of the adjectives often used to describe Hillary Clinton's popularity, as DC pundits speculate about her perceived ambitions for 2016.
Pool / Getty Images
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton attend a dinner for Kennedy honorees on Dec. 1, 2012 in Washington, D.C.
It's correct that Clinton (bested only by her husband Bill) enjoys the second highest approval rating of the public figures we asked about in our most recent NBC/WSJ poll. With a 58% positive / 28% negative split overall (and 100 percent name recognition), she has the kind of numbers that most political figures experience only in daydreams.
And it's also worth noting that neither she nor her husband are strangers to the political doldrums. In April 2008, as her prospects for a primary comeback waned, she had a net negative overall approval rating. When Bill Clinton left the presidency, after his controversial pardon of Marc Rich, just 34 percent of Americans viewed him positively.
But as both have seen their numbers rebound to their current highs, are the Clintons' stores of political goodwill -- built up by a couple that has largely stayed above the political fray since the end of the 2008 election -- resilient enough to bolster another run for the presidency by Hillary?
Here's a look at where both Clintons stand right now with some of the groups that make up a campaign-building coalition.
(As with all deep dives into cross-tabs, insert caveat here that the margin of error for these subgroups is by definition higher than the poll's overall MOE of +/- 3.10%.)
Hillary Clinton enjoys a 70 percent approval rating among women. Almost seven-in-ten Hispanic respondents and and 87 percent of African-Americans also said they view her positively.
While she is hardly beloved by the party she once derided for its penchant for "right wing conspiracy," her marks with Republicans are better than the current president's. A quarter of Republicans in the NBC/WSJ survey gave her positive ratings, while 52 percent of independents said the same. (Compare that to 10 percent of GOP respondents and 45 percent of indies for Obama.)
Other than being slightly underwater among white men, she has net positive ratings among almost every key constituency, with notable strength among suburban women (+44 points), blue collar workers (+24 points) and retirees (+18 points).
And then there's Bill.
The former president, who once stood at the brink of impeachment, has nearly regained the popularity he enjoyed at his first inauguration in 1993. Just a quarter of the poll's respondents said they view Bill Clinton negatively. His numbers with Republicans and independents are comparable to his wife's, but his overall popularity is buoyed by strength among white men, who view him positively by a margin of more than 30 points.
Both Clintons are also unsurprisingly strong with the Democratic base -- a data point that's notable only in light of the blistering attacks both launched on Barack Obama during the 2007-2008 primary battle. Disapproval for either barely registers among respondents who classified themselves as liberals or core Democrats.
None of this is to say that the daily volleys of a possible campaign wouldn't create some cracks in the Clintonian armor; Hillary Clinton's approval rating dropped by 10 points in the two bruising months after the Iowa caucuses in 2008, for example.
What goes up, both pols know, can come down.
But for now, speculators, "formidable" is fine.
Leave a Comment:
Monica Lewinski would not vote for Hillary.
Run Hillary, PLEASE!!! If that fat ass Crissie is to run, you would beat the panties off him! There can be NO Repukes in the W.H. for the foreseeable future, and beyond!!!!
Like so many things in life, this article will appear to be utter fantasy when the history books are written in 50 years.
You wish...hahahahahahahaha!!
You mean utter fantasy like the polls that showed Romney winning ? Or the fantasy that Raygun brought down the Soviet Union ? Or the fantasy that there were WMD's in Iraq ? Or the fantasy that you could wage 2 wars and cut taxes ? Or the fantasy that Ronnie Raygun didn't encourage terroism by running from Lebanon and providing arms(illegally) to the Taliban ?
The two top politicians in the US by far: Bill and Hillary. Get used to them being in the White House once again.
One thing we know for sure. If she runs, she wins! And that's a good thing!
Not hardly.
Enough Clintons already. She can't even control her husband and you want her to control the country ? And you can be sure, she will run in 2016, no matter what she says. Why does she want to run, because of ego. She wants to be the first female President and she and Bill think she is entitled to it. She has been running for President before Bill ended his 2nd term.
She has the dyke vote locked down for sure.
You sure do have a lesbian fascination. You keep mentioning it waiting for someone to reply. Guess what?? NO ONE CARES! There, you got your reply.....
Well,Well. Susan Rice has just withdrawn her name for Hillary's job! Seems that she didn't have enough DEMOCRATS who would vote for her! I wonder if Obama will now put that phoney Kerry up for nomination.
Oh Well. Back on topic.
Hillary and Bill a Progressives Dream Team!! Let's see what happens during Hillary's testimony in front of the Congress about Benghazi. I would imagine that she has all her ducks in a row with the Administrations lies. She has had months to get her story straight with Obama. It will be fun to hear her spin on prior testimony.
Not really, what she had was too many DOG republicans like you who would accuse her of all types of bull@!$%#, and vote against you.
A good warrior does not commit suicide; he/she returns when odds are better in his/her favor.
Staring at that picture reminds me of dumb and dumber.
YA I KNOW! = opinions are like poopers, everybody has got one, BUT, Wild BILL annnnnd Hillary? = KNOW~POLITICS = INSIDE & OUT! = THEY KNOW THE BUSSINESS OF "CROOKED~POLITICS".
PERSONALLY BILL DID NO MORE THAN ANY OTHER RED BLOODED MAN! = HE LET A HARD_ON RULE HIS BRAIN! = A SET UP. = HILLARY DEALT WITH THAT! = HOW MANY LOWER CLASS WOMEN COULD HAVE????
THEY ARE STILL "TOGETHER"? = FIGHTING "TOGETHER"! .... "I F", they could save their MARRIAGE???? = WITH THE SUPPORT OF > "WE~THE~PEOPLE".... MAYBE THIS USA CAN BE SAVED???? = FYI i am a SMOKER OF 56 YEARS?.... I HAVE NO USE FOR THE ANTI'S = BUT, I WILL JOIN HANDS WITH ANY OF THEM IN A FIGHT FOR THIS COUNTRY! = somethjing just has to CHANGE, ASAP......PDQ & STUFFS...........
I hope Hillary gets a load of manjuice on her blue dress.
Love Hill and Bill...hoping she will be president and he can be Secretary of State...economically it might be that we really could feel like 1999 again....WERK!!!!
If we, Americans, can successfully put Hillary in the White House in 2016, we might be able to win some respect back from the rest of the world. I'm sure everyone remember what the others in the world said about us when we put Bush in the White house for another four years. Year 2016 is our chance to let the rest of the world know that Americans are not as dumb with politics as they once thought us to be. We are able to learn from our mistakes. We are able to elect someone who has the leadership quality of our country.
Elect that old broad to the WH and you are guaranteed to show the world we are a bunch of idiots. Please describe to us the leadership that these two political hacks and corrupt clowns have that the USA needs so badly.
Hey Republicans... maybe you could run one of your exceptional candidates like Donald Trump against her... lol
I think Hillary is great but just the physical toll 4 years as SoS has taken on her I can only imagine what she would look like after 4 years as POTUS.
Does this mean Biden is out???
TONYWARVET, are you sure you are?
No more Clintons,Bushs,Kennedys.Need get these people that have destroyed this Country out of or politcal system!
While the debate whether the mainstream media is liberal or simply moderate and reporting the news, is a Moot point (debatable, thanks parallelcooler) Could someone from the conservative party please explain to me what incentive the media has to lean to the left? What value is the "Liberal Media" getting from "always" taking a liberal view on politics?
I think Hillary is her own woman, and I don't think Bill will be her No. 1 advisor; I think she will be her own No. 1 advisor. You notice when asked about Hillary's plans, he will say he doesn't know what she is going to do, but he will support her all the way. Anyone can see she has worked herself to pieces as Secty. of State. After four years of rest, she may decide to run, but she also may not want to have the problems of the whole world sitting on her shoulders. After being a former FLOTUS, she knows full well what her responsibilities would be. I admire Hillary for keeping her family all together after Bill's indescretions. I'm sure she was wise enough to realize he wasn't the first one (president) who had given in to a silly female who threw herself at him, and he won't be the last. In fact, the way men are wired, I don't think any of them would refuse it being handed to them on a silver platter. However, the past is in the past, and I think Bill's appearances on Obama's campaign trail really helped him to win. I'm still giggling when I picture the stunned expression on Romney's face.
...
The Republican rightwing has been trying to destroy the Clintons ever since Bill was elected President. What a bunch of back stabbers.
Here is a prime example of EXTREME LIBERAL MEDIA BIAS, Bill lies under oath to the entire country, what does the media do NOTHING!!!! If this had been a Republican they would be tar and feathered and ridden out of politics for good. So yes, one is indestructible, as long as the liberal media protects them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bill and Hillary Clinton=Juan and Evita Peron! Could not get the Perons to leave the stage and will can't get the Clintons to go quietly into the night.These parasites will never leave the stage and give others a chance to run.They are obsessed with having two tombstones adjacent to each other,both proclaming they were past Presidemts of the United States.Just get over it and move back to Arkansas and let America be!We can survive without Evita running and beboming President.Can you imagine 4 more years of Another Clinton.I guess theri daughter will start he political campaigning for some obscure office,with her parents support,to keep alive that hope that one day,there will be 3 tombstones in line proclaming all were former Presidents of the United States! Go away.No more Evitas!
Evita will have to undergo more facial surgery in one year than Joan Rivrers has in 20 years.Not to mention losing about 50 lbs and bathing regularly! Those ae difficult task for someone that age.If she gets the amount of surgery that will be required to make her look uner 90years old,she will be giving news conferences and talking out of her right ear.Too old,policies are dated,she has to deal with bill,her tour as Secretary of State was not that eventful nor is she rated as one of our better SS.She has a lots of bills to jump over before she gets the nomination.I would bet,John Kerry Kraft will run again,especially if he becomes the SS.Then we have Moonbeam Brown from California who has enormous experience in destroying a government .He could be a shoe in for the dims.Big labor loves him.OH yea,the Mayor of LA,Tony V.he is a bright rising star as long as your stars are all dim.
they are totally dependent on the american voter having the memory span of a hamster
hey hillary how close did that sniper actually get when you landed?