Perhaps no other contender for the Democratic Party nomination has been so dearly loved and so harshly criticized as Hillary Clinton. The former First Lady is by many considered to be the front runner and her fund raising successes showcase that quite a few constituents believe in her. Currently serving as the junior senator from New York, Mrs. Clinton has seen the ups and downs of presidential politics from the inside, and alongside her husband has suffered many of the downs, such as being subpoenaed during the Whitewater hearings.
Yet while her poll numbers – as compiled on the USA Election Polls website – are indeed meteoric, they do show a trend of gradual reversal in some cases. Take for example the ABC News polls that gave her 41% in January only to reduce the figures to 39% in July. Hardest hit were her numbers on the Cook Political Report which showed her with 47% in February but only 32.3% in June.
In stark contract to the national polls stand the statewide polls where she is gaining support. Arizona’s numbers moved up from 27.5% in January to 39% in July, while New Hampshire went from 19% at the beginning of the year to 32.3% in July. The question that is asked by many who are keeping close tabs on polling results deals with her direct competition, Barack Obama. While Mrs. Clinton may be heard as a roar on Capitol Hill, Mr. Obama has been likened to a gentle whisper, and some pundits are wondering if this is his strategy of differentiating himself from the former First Lady in the hopes of gaining support from those who prefer the calmer, quieter approach. Thus far, his numbers do not add up.
