Poll: 75% call Hillary Clinton rich; just 39% want her to run
By Paul Bedard | July 17, 2014 | 11:50 am
Hillary Clinton's poor-mouthing of her wealth is starting to take its toll, with a substantial majority now calling her among the nation's richest, and more Americans than not believing she's out of touch on understanding the plight of the middle class.
But even worse, according to a new Economist/YouGov.com poll, just 39 percent of Americans want her to run for president in 2016.
The new poll slaps Clinton with the headline “Hillary Clinton: Far From Broke,” and points out that even Democrats are starting to sour on the likely 2016 candidate.
“Does the perception of a candidate being wealthy hurt them?” asks the Economist/YouGov analysis. “In the case of Clinton, the most recent controversy over wealth may have taken a toll. Her favorable rating has dropped five points in the last week, with much of that drop coming from Democrats, and much of it coming from a drop in their rating of ?very favorable.' Last week 54 percent of Democrats said their opinion of Clinton was 'very favorable,' but this week that has dropped 13 points to 41 percent.”
The wealth controversy hit the former first lady as she opened her book tour to tout her latest memoir, Hard Choices. In an initial interview, she described her and former President Bill Clinton's financial situation on leaving the White House in 2001 as “dead broke.”
Since then most media outlets have detailed the Clinton wealth from speeches and books. Now, said the poll, 75 percent call Hillary Clinton “wealthy."
When it comes to understanding the middle class, 44 percent said she doesn't get them, 38 percent said she did understand. Lower income Americans said she understood the middle class, but half of those with family incomes between $40,000 and $100,000 said she does not.
And while most Americans believe she will run, just 39 percent want her to. That includes 69 percent of Democrats, 34 percent of independents and just 14 percent of Republicans.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.
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Paul Bedard
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