Hillary Supporters Are Still Not Supporting Obama
According to the latest poll taken by Opinion Research, Barack Obama is not connecting with the supporters of Hillary Clinton like he, and the leaders of the Democratic Party hoped he would. In fact, he is losing support, not gaining it.
There has been a feeling all along that Hillary Clinton is not as supportive of Obama deep down as she appears to be on the surface and her endorsement is just for party unity. Her supporters are just not going to support Obama because he is the nominee, unless they believe he is going to include some of her platform in his own. In this poll, 54% of the Clinton supporters said they plan to vote for Obama, but that figure is not as good as it looks because at the beginning of June, it was 60%. At the same time, fewer Clinton supporters say they are planing to vote for McCain, which means one thing. They are planing to stay home on election day rather than vote for a candidate they do not wholly believe in.
Clinton still has a great deal of support with 43% of the Democrats saying they still want Clinton as the nominee. Last month it was 35%. So Clinton is gaining support even though she has suspended her campaign while Obama’s support has dropped from 59% to 54%.
The doings of the Party play a big roll in Clinton’s supporters not jumping at the chance to support Obama. Many feel that decisions made at the DNC were slanted against her - the decision on Florida and Minnesota, not allowing her delegates to vote for her on the first ballot, calling for her to end her campaign before all of the primaries. They are just angry with the party as a whole.
Will the Clinton supporters come around? They will be listening to every word from Obama to see just how close he is to her position and with Obama asking the former President to campaign for him, they will be paying attention to not only what he has to say, but how he says it. The former President left office with a 60% approval rating, but has dropped to about 51% now. That is still a high percentage, much better than the current President is going to leave office with, and what he has to say may make all the difference.
The story is not much better on the Republican side either, with a good deal of the Ron Paul supporters not falling in line behind John McCain and it looks as if they are going to be making their feelings heard at the Republican convention, although they have been very quiet the past couple of weeks.
This campaign has changed the face of politics forever. There has never been on like it in the past, but there is a better than even chance that there will be more to come in the future. The internet has made a lot more American’s politically savvy and politically active as well.
Popularity: 22% [?]
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Comment by Scott on 6 July 2008:
I am a Hillary supporter and i AM supporting OBAMA. For me, the choice was between two great democratic candidates. No true Hillary supporter would vote for McCain. Never ever.
Comment by Paul Fdot on 7 July 2008:
How could anyone be so mis-informed to vote for anyone except Ron Paul. Research. At the very least check out his CPAC speech. Trust me, you’ll like it. McCain or Obama - pray it will never happen.
Comment by Jkan on 7 July 2008:
I would have voted for Obama if he won the nomination fair and square. The GAME he played along with DNC members and the Press to get nominated is disgusting.
So, my vote goes to McCain.
Comment by swoosie on 8 July 2008:
Clearly the DNC conspired against Hillary and handed the nomination to Obama. I can’t even begin to tell you how disgusted I still am over this and I know many others who are as well. It will be a cold day in hell before you find me voting for Obama.
Comment by kc on 10 July 2008:
I am a strong Hillary supporter and I will never vote for Obama! Write in Hillary!!!
Comment by EMS on 12 July 2008:
I was & am a Hillary supporter. I cannot vote for Obama - I have no idea what the man stands for and no trust in him and I’m very curious as to who is behind him - who is so powerful as to have the major US news machine fall right behing him - this is very scary to me and others.
I will vote for McCain and ask all my friends to do the same. I believe McCain is only a four year President and I really want Hillary to run again.
Please no Obama, the pied piper of politics.
Comment by dbp on 17 July 2008:
I am a Hillary supporter that will stay at home and not vote this year.
It pains me but I have no idea of what Barack Obama is all about and the fact that he did the bait and switch on NAFTA telling the Canadian it was election “talk” leads me to believe he is more of a liar than most politicians. Race shouldn’t be an issue but the high degree of people voting for him to get an African American in the white house without understanding what he is truly capable of doing really bothers me. I have listened to him several times and still can’t get a handle on what his plan is for this country. I am a business woman and business owner and you have to have a plan and a strategy. I see none of those qualities in Obama.
At least Hillary has proven her salt in many ways not only as a legislator but also as a first lady and an attorney dealing in areas of of the public good. New Yorkers were hesitant (and I am a NY’er even though I don’t live there now) and believe me she has fought for the state and the people living there.
It is a shame because I am truly a believer in the political process. I think Hillary got a terrible shake in the media and that - plus poor planning on her staff end is what did her in.
Also - the Gene - x and younger have no idea of what problems this country is truly in right now. They truly don’t understand globalization and the cost to them in jobs etc. down the road. It is great to want change but the ability in a government that has been around as long as ours does not happen overnight.
Just think of it- two war zones, real estate failure and bust, rising energy costs emcompassing food, and all consumable items, let us not forget health care form hell….Obama….not in a New York minute….
Maybe if we are really lucky Warren Buffett or Michael Bloomberg will take the helm….
Comment by Ray on 26 July 2008:
All of you Hillary supporters who say you’re voting for McCain are complete idiots. You’re like spoiled kids who pout because they didn’t get exactly what they wanted. It is a mystery to me why you would choose to vote for a candidate (McCain) whose ideology is completely opposite to what Hillary and your party stand for, especially when the guy who won the nomination has a platform that is almost identical to that of Hillary. Stop being babies and just vote for Obama–for Christ’s sake, have you heard the man talk? Apparently half a million people the other day in Berlin were pretty inspired; maybe you should be too.