Hillary Clinton recently yelled into a camera asking why she isn’t 50 points ahead of Donald Trump. It turns out a number of her supporters and Democratic insiders are asking the same question.
They can’t understand why the race is so tight and are already assigning blame for her poor performance.
The Washington Examiner reports:
Clinton and surrogates growing frustrated with tightening race
Clinton’s campaign has outspent GOP nominee Donald Trump on nearly every front, including placing more than $20 million on ads in Pennsylvania. The Republican candidate has spent only a fraction of that amount on advertising in the Keystone State.
Though the Democratic nominee is ahead of Trump by a wide margin in Pennsylvania, she leads nationally by only two points, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.
Clinton’s supporters have blamed her poor showing in the polls on everything from third-party candidates to the supposed ignorance of the American voters. And her supporters appear to be growing increasingly frustrated with Trump’s ability to stay competitive in the race for the White House.
Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., for example, said Clinton has a poor approval rating because voters aren’t paying attention to all of her strengths as a candidate.
“Well, the biggest concern is, I think, the American public are not paying attention to the details, the specifics, her experience,” the Maryland lawmaker said Wednesday.
Earlier this month, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., argued Clinton’s lousy numbers are the result of the existence of surprisingly competitive third-party candidates.
“I think that polls are a reflection of some voters going to the third party. The third and fourth party. The tightening that some of these undecideds have gone to that place. Some of the millennials,” Pelosi said in an interview on CNN.
The best excuse came from Senator Claire McCaskill:
“I think in presidential elections, history has shown that the American people do have a penchant for a new, bright and shiny object,” McCaskill said in an MSNBC interview. “There is a lot of dissatisfaction in this country and a sense that we need to blow up the system, and who better to blow up the system than a huckster and a conman?”
“I will say some of it is inexplicable to me, honestly, candidly,” she said.
The article also cites Bernie Sanders as a reason for Hillary’s sagging numbers because he highlighted her negatives during the primary.
What this all shows is that even people who want Hillary to win can’t make a decent case for her. The fact that their default position is to blame everyone but her for her weaknesses is very telling.
Trump surrogates can easily point out Hillary’s negatives but they can also make a case for his candidacy very easily and with plenty of optimism and enthusiasm.
That makes all the difference.