National / World Politics 26 Sep 2007 06:45 am
Hillary Clinton ‘could cost Democrats dear’
Hillary Clinton ‘could cost Democrats dear’
By Toby Harnden in Washington
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Rudy Giuliani, the Republican presidential candidate, would win in more than 30 marginal districts currently held by Democrats, a new poll says. The leaked survey by the Democratic pollsters Lake Research confirmed fears that the “very polarised image” of Hillary Clinton, their party’s front runner, could lose them the 2008 election. Barack Obama, who is second in the Democratic presidential candidate stakes, also trailed Mr Giuliani in 31 marginal congressional districts. A private memo by Lake Research, leaked to The Washington Post, painted what they described as a “sobering picture” for Democrats who believe President George Bush’s “disastrous favourability” almost guarantees they will capture the White House next year. All polls on party preferences show that Democrats are much more popular than Republicans. But when the names of individual candidates are used, the gap narrows considerably. The poll found that Mr Giuliani, a centrist Republican with liberal stances on abortion and gay rights, leads Mrs Clinton by 49 per cent to 39 per cent in the swing districts. The former mayor of New York enjoyed a much slimmer lead of just one per cent over Mr Obama. It has long been known that Mrs Clinton has “high negatives” among voters but the assessment of Mr Obama that his “image is soft, and one-fifth of voters do not have a firm impression of him” was a surprise. The poll found that Mrs Clinton, in particular, could damage the chances of congressional Democratic candidates on the ballot. Andy Andrew, a Democratic chairman in Greenville, South Carolina – a key primary state – said: “I’d be a little bit dishonest if I didn’t admit that in some parts of the country, and probably my own, having Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket will have some impact further down.” Frank Luntz, a leading Republican pollster, said: “This poll reveals what grassroots Democrats have been concerned about. Hillary is their choice ideologically but not necessarily politically and they’re afraid she could lose. “Democrats want to win more than anything else and they will compromise on policy to achieve electability.” He said Mrs Clinton prompted perceptions about herself including “a lack of candour” and “harshness”. Hillary Clinton’s campaign team “killed” a negative magazine story by using an article on her husband as bait, it was claimed yesterday. According to Politico newspaper, Clinton advisers told GQ that if the article was published they would withdraw co-operation over a piece on Bill Clinton, expected to feature on December’s cover. Jim Nelson, editor of GQ, said: “Yes, we did kill a Hillary piece. We kill pieces all the time for a variety of reasons.” |
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