Many opponents of Hillary cite her supposed polarizing nature as a reason for supporting other candidates (Yes, I realize people have other concerns, but for those concerned she might be polarizing, this diary is for you). Well, good news concerning Hillary's electability, if she should win the nomination: a new Washington Post poll, not only does Hillary beat Giuliani by eight points and polls just above 50%, she has polls as less polarizing than all candidates except Obama:
Forty-one percent of those surveyed said they definitely would not vote for Clinton in the general election if she were the Democratic nominee, one of the lowest "reject rates" among the leading candidates in either of the two major parties. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) registers the lowest definite opposition, at 39 percent.
All other frontrunners have higher rates of people who would not vote for them:
Edwards: 43%
Giuliani: 44%
McCain: 45%
Thompson: 54%
Romney: 57%
Even in the South, where Edwards claims he has a leg up on other Democratic candidates, his electability is no better. Those who say they would definitely not vote for a particular candidate:
Edwards: 47%
Clinton: 46%
Obama: 45%
As people are re-introduced to Hillary, her people like her more and more.
In a match up with Giuliani:
Hillary - 51%
Rudy - 43%
Hillary is already passing the fifty percent mark. That's pretty good this far out.
In addition, double the number of people are committed to supporting Hillary as opposed to Rudy:
On the other side of the ledger, more Americans, three in 10, said they definitely would support Clinton rather than any of the other leading candidates of either party. In contrast, 17 percent said they definitely would support Giuliani.
But you want to see a really astounding number?
Among those closely following the race:
Hillary: 58%
Giuliani: 40%
That's a testament to the political savvy of Hillary and her campaign.
Now what about how people see Hillary in relation to the BIg Dawg.
As Hillary made clear to Tim Russert in the last debate - "He's not standing her right now" - America realizes this will be her Administration, not his:
But Americans said they would not regard the election of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as simply the resumption of her husband's presidency. Instead, two-thirds said she would take her presidency in a different direction, and half of all Americans said they believed that would be a good development. About half of those who said it would be a resumption described that as positive.
And how do the American people see Bill Clinton's presidency?
At this point, however, the former president is seen in favorable terms. Two-thirds of Americans said they approve of the job he did while he was in office -- virtually the reverse of President Bush's current approval rating, which stands at 33 percent. Clinton remains overwhelmingly popular among Democrats, and 63 percent of independents and even a third of Republicans also gave him positive marks.
Republicans want to make everyone believe that they would be thrilled to run against the Clintons. They claim she's the most polarizing figure in America and Bill will be a drag on her. Funny how these numbers say otherwise.