Voter Doubts About Her Honesty Costing Clinton

[big dog cowboy]

Voter Doubts About Her Honesty Costing Clinton

By CQ Staff Sat Apr 5

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is being hobbled in her race to overtake Illinois Sen. Barack Obama by persistent questions among voters about her honesty, according to polls.

A new poll in North Carolina - which after the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, is the next big prize on the campaign trail - says a key element in Obama's success is that the state's voters value trust over experience. The survey for the Charlotte Observer/WCNC-TV reported that only 25 percent of voters gave high marks to Clinton for trustworthiness compared to 48 percent for Obama and 54 percent for Arizona Sen. John McCain. Nearly 9 in 10 voters said trust would be a major factor in deciding how they would vote.

Surveys in North Carolina have consistently shown Obama with a big lead over Clinton, and that was underscored again today in a new Rasmussen Reports poll. The poll, conducted April 3, says Obama's lead over Clinton has now soared to 56 percent to 33 percent.

Rasmussen noted that one bit of bad news for Obama is that 56 percent of Clinton supporters said they would not be likely to vote for Obama in a race against McCain. The Charlotte Observer poll put that number lower, saying 20 percent of Clinton supporters would vote for McCain if Obama gets the nomination while 13 percent of Obama backers would do the same if Clinton is the nominee.

The Charlotte Observer poll was conducted as Clinton got caught up in news reports contradicting her account of once coming under sniper fire in Bosnia. The same doubts about Clinton's honesty have surfaced in polls by Gallup and Pew Research

On the honesty issue, Rasmussen says 77 percent have followed news stories about Clinton's misstatements about her Bosnia trip. Twenty-three percent say they are a "very important" issue while 25 percent say the issue is "somewhat important." Sixty-three percent say that most politicians lie or embellish the truth when discussing their own accomplishments.

The Charlotte Observer poll also found:

- Two-thirds of voters give Obama high marks for his ability to connect with voters compared to a third who give McCain and Clinton high marks.

- Three-quarters give high marks to Obama for intelligence compared to the more than the two-thirds who gave his rivals high marks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20080405/...olitics2698315

[Jon88]

That's what happens when you lie as much as she has.

[kristie]

if you lie, you get burned, & that's what is happening to hillary clinton. she's getting burned big-time.

[Bizwah]

You know....it's funny.

These guys (politicians) lie all the time. We know they lie all the time. We expect them to lie to us.

Yet, we act so surprised when they're caught in a lie. I'm not shocked at this. I'm sure we'll see McCain and Obama both being caught in lies sometime between now and November.

Man....am I cynical or what?

[Jon88]

Originally Posted by kristie

if you lie, you get burned, & that's what is happening to hillary clinton. she's getting burned big-time.

She went on Leno and tried to make a joke about the Bosnia lie, saying "she was under sniper fire when she got out of the limo" or something close to that. I would say only 1/4 of the audience laughed.

[Jon88]

Originally Posted by Bizwah

You know....it's funny.

These guys (politicians) lie all the time. We know they lie all the time. We expect them to lie to us.

Yet, we act so surprised when they're caught in a lie. I'm not shocked at this. I'm sure we'll see McCain and Obama both being caught in lies sometime between now and November.

Man....am I cynical or what?

Not really, but I don't expect McCain to get busted like Hillary has. Those were both huge lies.

[iceberg]

Originally Posted by Jon88

She went on Leno and tried to make a joke about the Bosnia lie, saying "she was under sniper fire when she got out of the limo" or something close to that. I would say only 1/4 of the audience laughed.

she's desperate. every move nothing more than hope now. she's not the "laugh at herself" type of person who can do it and get away with it.

one career flushed. now for reality to set in.

[iceberg]

Originally Posted by Bizwah

You know....it's funny.

These guys (politicians) lie all the time. We know they lie all the time. We expect them to lie to us.

Yet, we act so surprised when they're caught in a lie. I'm not shocked at this. I'm sure we'll see McCain and Obama both being caught in lies sometime between now and November.

Man....am I cynical or what?

i don't expect them to lie. i expect them to tell the truth and yes, i get diappointed a lot. but i won't lower my expectations from the system just because it's easy to do.

i expect them to lead. i expect them to put the country ahead of their own very lives. i expect a lot, i know. did i mention disappointment sets in a lot too?

act so surprised, however - i think you've got your drama-queen shirt on. no one i've ever talked to is surprised they lie.

i don't think the general populace is as ignorant as you paint. apathetic maybe, not not ignorant.

[kristie]

Originally Posted by iceberg

she's desperate. every move nothing more than hope now. she's not the "laugh at herself" type of person who can do it and get away with it.

one career flushed. now for reality to set in.

exactly.

[Bizwah]

Originally Posted by iceberg

i don't expect them to lie. i expect them to tell the truth and yes, i get diappointed a lot. but i won't lower my expectations from the system just because it's easy to do.

i expect them to lead. i expect them to put the country ahead of their own very lives. i expect a lot, i know. did i mention disappointment sets in a lot too?

act so surprised, however - i think you've got your drama-queen shirt on. no one i've ever talked to is surprised they lie.

i don't think the general populace is as ignorant as you paint. apathetic maybe, not not ignorant.

I think someone needs to turn on their sarcasm detector.

My post was a stab at humor. I guess I failed miserably.....again....

[iceberg]

Originally Posted by Bizwah

I think someone needs to turn on their sarcasm detector.

My post was a stab at humor. I guess I failed miserably.....again....

sorry man - not read enough of your posts to catch on to those things yet. : )