Hillary Still Strong

The media, as of late, has been really hitting Sen. Clinton hard and presenting only one side of a very complex story.  But I'm not into the game of "blame it all on the media".  Rather, I like to look for facts, and quite frankly, the facts show that Hillary is still a very strong candidate, both nationally and in the early states.  The media has been highly critical of the Clinton campaign, focusing on what they want you to think is a huge, sudden downfall for her in the polls.  The polls that show Hillary looking strong are all but forgotten.  So here is the most up to date polling available and, as you'll see, Hillary isn't in all that bad of shape after all.

First, let's take a look at the national race.  The two national polls that keep being shown over and over again on CNN and MSNBC are the two that show Obama very close to Hillary.  A Hotline poll from 12/10-14 has Obama trailing Clinton by just 5 points, while a Zogby poll has Obama just 8 points behind.  But here are the polls that aren't getting play, mainly because they don't make for as interesting of a story.  The very latest poll from Fox (12/18-19) has Clinton with a staggering 29 point lead over Obama.  An ABC poll from earlier this month has Clinton with a 30 point lead.  A NBC poll conducted just this past week has Clinton with a 24 point lead.  As you can see, Clinton's national lead is still strong.  Her peak was 30 points over Obama back in October.  Still, despite what the media would have you think, that lead is still very much in place.

Next up is Iowa.  Just today I heard talk on CNN and MSNBC about how dangerous Clinton is to coming in a distant third in Iowa and how horrible she is doing there.  Here is a fact: the last 3 out of 4 polls from Iowa have Clinton in the lead.  The American Research Group and Rasmussen give Clinton a 4 point lead.  CNN gives her a 2 point lead (interesting how CNN doesn't even report on their own poll).  Real Clear Politics, a great website that averages recent polling, indicates that Obama and Clinton are tied in Iowa with 28.3% each.  Does Clinton have Iowa locked-up?  Of course not.  But she is certainly doing better than the media lets out.

Another poll which has been given a ton of airplay today is the USA Today/Gallup poll from New Hampshire which shows Clinton and Obama tied.  What the media fails to mention is another poll which was conducted during the same time frame as the Gallup poll and gives Clinton a 14 point lead.  The latest CNN and Fox polls give her a 12 and 9 point lead respectively.  Real Clear Politics averages that Clinton has a 6.2 point lead; certainly not great, but far from horrible.

Clinton may not be at her peak, but no one realistically expected that she would be right now.  It is a historical fact that the closer to the primaries a Presidential election gets, particularly on the Democratic side, the more the race tightens.  Again, my point in writing this is not to attack the media, but rather to get the other side of the story out there.  It seems that over the last few months the MSM has turned violently against Clinton and is doing everything possible to pump up Barack Obama.  But facts are facts.  This is a very close race, but Clinton is still the frontrunner and is either winning or tying for first when you average the most recent data.   

Future Iraq Funding

If President Bush asks Congress for more money for Iraq next year, other than what has already been approved, here is how the Democrats need to handle any such request.

 

Since Bush has always requested money for Iraq outside of the budget process without any plans to pay for the war except to continue his deficit spending, the Democrats should handle it as a separate item and not mix it with any other legislation.  Bring it to a vote and let the Congress vote.  The Republicans can't muster the 60 votes needed in the Senate so the legislation would fail.  Bush will then go into his self serving statement about Democrats not supporting the troops.

 

The Democrats need not be afraid of that any more and should repeat over and over it is Bush who does not support our troops; he sent them off to fight a war and occupation in Iraq over WMD that did not exist.  The reason Bush's approval rating is between 29-30% is because the people understand the way Bush has lied to the country and that it is his own actions that does not support our troops and in fact he is using our troops as pawns to play God in the Middle East. 

 

Keep in mind, if neither Republican or Democrats in the Senate can reach 60 votes, the measure is dead.  There is enough money in the pipe line to bring our troops home safe.  No more funding.