A new Rasmassen Reports survey on "Presidential Candidate Ideology" finds most voters see Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as politically liberal.That does not bode well in November for either prospective Democratic Party nominee.
Beyond the poll numbers, just look at the election results for the past 40 years to see how liberals have fared: John Kerry, Al Gore, Michael Dukakis, Walter Mondale, Jimmy Carter, George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey have lost presidential races.
Here are some highlights from the Rasmussen poll:
How likely voters nationwide see the candidates:
Barack Obama
Liberal – 54%
Moderate – 28%
Hillary Clinton
Liberal – 52%
Moderate – 31%
John McCain
Conservative – 41%
Moderate – 41%
Ralph Nader
Liberal – 44%
Unsure – 25%
As voters get to know Clinton and Obama more, the majority of voters believe both candidates are liberal, the survey found.
From the survey:
Perceptions of Clinton have changed little since the campaign season began. In December, she was viewed as politically liberal by 54% and moderate by 31%.To read more survey results, click here or visit www.rasmussenreports.com/
However, Obama is now seen as more liberal than he was in December. McCain is seen as more conservative.
In December, 47% viewed Obama as politically liberal and 35% said he was a moderate.
1 comment:
That's actually encouraging in some ways, because it means people already think Obama is a liberal, so his numbers won't tank a lot more when the Republicans start labeling him that way. Ditto for Clinton, but I am more worried about that happening for Obama because he is not as well-known. I think he's generally very progressive but not an ideologue, and he's open to different points of view. That irritates some liberals, but I think it's a big plus to have a president who has liberal tendencies but is not dogmatic about it, and is at least willing to listen to other points of view. That's what leadership is, and it frustrates me when other liberals hold politicians to ideological purity tests.
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