Democrats’ Buyer’s Remorse Growing
The most popular national political figure in America today is one who was rejected by her own party three years ago: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans hold a favorable view of her and one-third are suffering a form of buyer’s remorse, saying the U.S. would be better off now if she had become president in 2008 instead of Barack Obama.
The finding in the latest Bloomberg National Poll shows a higher level of wishful thinking about a Hillary Clinton presidency than when a similar question was asked in July 2010. Then, a quarter of Americans held such a view.
Clinton, a former first lady and U.S. senator from New York, fought with Obama for the Democratic nomination until June 2008, in what was often a combative primary that included her questioning his presidential readiness.
The "buyer's remorse" isn't universal however. While 34 percent say things would be better under a Clinton administration, almost half -- 47 percent -- say things would be about the same and 13 percent say worse.
“Some of her appeal is that she is not Barack Obama,” said J. Ann Selzer, president of Des Moines, Iowa-based Selzer & Co., which conducted the Sept. 9-12 poll.
The poll shows Obama’s job approval rating stands at the lowest of his presidency, 45 percent.
In recent months the Washington punditocracy has produced a steady stream of stories about growing anti-Obama sentiment in the Democratic Party.
The stories report Democrats all over the country are wishing they hadn't been so eager to nominate and elect a President with practically no real world experience.
Hillary Clinton insists she has no interest in running for President again. Whether she runs in the primaries again or not, party insiders say they wouldn't be surprised to see a "Draft Hillary" movement in the Democratic National Convention next summer.
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