A new poll says that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are now running neck-and-neck. More importantly, it suggests that Clinton has already taken a six-point hit, due to the email affair. How can that be, you ask? Trump hardly talked about it! And maybe that’s why.
Thursday’s New York Times/CBS poll reports the bad news for Hillary.
Hillary Clinton has emerged from the F.B.I. investigation into her email practices as secretary of state a wounded candidate with a large and growing majority of voters saying she cannot be trusted, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. . .
Mrs. Clinton’s six-percentage-point lead over the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, in a CBS News poll last month has evaporated. . .
Mrs. Clinton. . .will confront an electorate in which 67 percent of voters say she is not honest and trustworthy. . . Mr. Trump is also distrusted by a large number of voters — 62 percent — but that number has stayed constant despite increased scrutiny. . .
That was Thursday’s poll. Wednesday, we heard from McClatchy-Marist, showing the candidates within the margin of error.
Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump has withered to 3 percentage points, signaling their battle for the White House has become too close to call heading into the two major-party national conventions, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. . .
Clinton’s support has slipped noticeably, particularly in the one-on-one matchup with Trump. It was the first time her support had dropped below 50 percent in polls going back a year. Her numbers plunged as the controversy over her private email server while secretary of state dominated political news. . .
Just 49 percent of Clinton voters said they were motivated by their support for her, while 48 percent were driven more by their opposition to Trump. That’s particularly true for young voters. Just 28 percent of young Clinton voters support her because they like her; 70 percent support her as a vote against Trump.
And just 41 percent of Trump voters are drawn to him, while 56 percent end up there as an anti-Clinton vote.
A third, the news from Quinnipiiac is even worse for Hillary, showing serious damage in swing states.
At 6 [Wednesday] morning, Quinnipiac University released a set of surveys of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania with the best polling news Donald Trump has gotten in a long time. In the version of the polls that includes third-party candidates — that’s the version FiveThirtyEight uses — Trump led Hillary Clinton by 5 percentage points in Florida, 1 percentage point in Ohio and 6 percentage points in Pennsylvania.
The Daily Beast acknowledges the damage but says there may be time for her to get past her “damned emails.” However, it will continue to haunt her.
The FBI and Justice Department may have spared Clinton from criminal prosecution over her use of a private email system, but she faces at least four legal and political challenges, any one of which could severely damage her. They include two open-ended congressional investigations about her email system, a court proceeding that could see Clinton deposed, and an internal inquiry by the State Department. . .
Perhaps Clinton’s biggest nemesis is the House committee investigating the Benghazi attacks, which, despite having published its findings last month, is still open for business, with subpoena power, a paid staff, and a broad mandate to investigate “any other relevant issues” related to the attacks.
Clinton may also have to speak yet again about her email. . .in a deposition to the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch. . . The House oversight committee also wants to know if Clinton perjured herself in that 11-hour hearing about the Benghazi attacks. . . Add to this political minefield that fact that the State Department has opened an “internal review.”
Ironically, the most burning question during the week of James Comey’s FBI testimony was why Donald Trump was off, talking about “other things Trump.” Most of the media complained, such as Inforum.
It was classic Trump. It was another lost opportunity to go after the presumptive Democratic candidate for president. He was armed with an FBI report that was packed with information that makes the former secretary of state look irresponsible at best, criminal at worst. Instead, Trump resorted to his playground rhetoric, calling Clinton “a liar” and “crooked Hillary.” That shallow pot-shotting might play to his fans, but it won’t have staying power with the general electorate he needs desperately if he has any chance of winning in November.
As usual, the media, even Trump-supporting media just don’t get him. Trump is about entertainment. People listen to him for the fun of it. What fun would it have been if he had quoted chapter and verse of the FBI report? BOOO-ring! So he praised Saddam Hussein, instead. And you know what? It worked. Look at the above polls.
Trump has figured out that all he has to do is HINT. Fashion a moniker, such as “Lyin’ Ted,” or “Low Energy Bush.” Then, when the time is right, unleash a question, not a full-fledged charge. For instance, could it be that Ted Cruz’ dad helped kill Kennedy? Just askin’. Cruz had to waste all his time answering the media’s crazy questions, “Lyin’ Ted” became unhinged, and gave up.
That’s half the technique—plant the seed, don’t transplant the whole tree. Force opponents to reply, and force the media to do the research. And that brings up the second half. If there’s a scandal or issue of some kind, ignore it. Force the media to ask Hillary all the hard questions. Stand above it.
If Trump had attacked Hillary about the emails, it would have been reported as, “he said, she said.” Equal weight to both. But by not commenting, it was Hillary vs. the Media, which sounds like Hillary vs. the Truth. It was a stroke of genius.
And finally, Trump does best painting himself (and us) as the victim. The system is rigged! You don’t have to say more than that.
Tell us more about sheriff badges and images in a Disney “Frozen” book! Tell us again about the wall—who’s going to pay for it? Tell us about your YUGE hands! Aye, laddie, and what’s this about your bonnie Scottish golf course? Oh, oh, and Trump Steaks?!! Now, that’s entertainment!
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