Should Hillary Clinton Be Worried?

Should Hillary Clinton Be Worried?

On the surface, the news is not good for Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State and U.S. Senator. Her popularity as a presidential candidate is dropping in opinion polls. At the same time, her competition is gaining. She even interrupted her August vacation and returned to the election campaign.

Ms. Clinton remains¹ the leading candidate among likely Democratic Party voters. But the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll says more Americans are viewing her unfavorably. A poll conducted by Quinnipiac College says people use the words “liar,” “dishonest,” and “untrustworthy” to describe her.

Back in Washington, a Republican-led committee is investigating her use of private email when she was secretary of state. And reports say Vice³ President Joe Biden could join the race for the Democratic presidential nomination⁴.

But her biggest problem, say political observers, is Bernie Sanders, a 73-year-old senator from the northeastern state of Vermont. He is gaining in popularity every day.

More Americans look at Hillary Clinton unfavorably

When Hillary Clinton announced her campaign for president back in April, she had no competition for the Democratic nomination. Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report said, “In some way, Hillary is running against herself. She’s got to show herself relevant in the 21st century.”

The Washington Post-ABC News poll was taken at the end of August. The survey found that 53 percent of the general population said they had an unfavorable view of Ms. Clinton. However, 80 percent of Democrats⁵ still viewed her in a good or favorable way, it found.

Quinnipiac University also released a separate poll last month. Ms. Clinton’s Democratic support dropped to 45 percent in that survey. Senator Sanders came in second place with 22 percent. Eighteen percent of those questioned said they support Vice President Biden.

Stuart Rothenberg is a Washington-based political observer. He thinks Mr. Biden would be a more serious opponent for Mrs. Clinton than Mr. Sanders.

Mr. Rothenberg added, “The reality is – those in the press, and in the Democratic and Republican parties who criticize former Secretary Clinton -- don’t represent the kind of the core of the Democratic Party. They like her. They agree with her. They think that she represents their values and views.”

In the 2012 presidential election, Nate Silver correctly predicted the voting results of all 50 states. His website (FiveThirtyEight) is following what it calls the “endorsement primary” to see which candidates will succeed and which will fail in the 2016 election. To date, Ms. Clinton has more than 322 points in this invisible primary. Her closest rival, Joe Biden, has 16.

Investigation⁶ of Hillary Clinton’s private email

Earlier this year, a U.S. congressional inquiry⁷ found that Hillary Clinton used a private email server to conduct government business as Secretary of State. Ms. Clinton says that she did not violate any rules by using the private server.

She was not the first public official to use private email. Colin Powell, a former secretary of state, also used private email. So did Karl Rove, a White House official, who served in the administration of President George W. Bush.

Ms. Clinton joked recently about a Justice Department review into classified government information on the private email server. When asked by a reporter whether she had wiped the server, she responded, “What, like with a cloth or something?”

As the presidential race gets tighter, the former Secretary of State has admitted that her use of private email “wasn't the best choice.” She added, “I should've used two emails: one personal, one for work. And I take responsibility for that decision.”

Little-known Senator finds large crowds on the campaign

When Senator Sanders announced that he was seeking the Democratic nomination, few people noticed. Vermont is one of the smallest states in the country. It has the second smallest population of any state. The senator announced his candidacy in an email to supporters and the media, not making a loud announcement on television. He is not a registered Democrat², but an Independent, in Congress.

The public and Democrats have noticed larger crowds turning out to hear Mr. Sanders. Nearly 30,000 people went to see him in Portland, Oregon; 27,000 in Los Angeles; 15,000 in Seattle; and 11,000 in Phoenix⁸, Arizona.

In Iowa -- where the candidates are tested in meetings called a caucus⁹ -- a poll from The Des Moines Register showed Sanders gaining in the race. Pollster J. Ann Selzer told reporters, "This feels like 2008 all over again.” In that race, Hillary Clinton led then-Senator Barack Obama early, but lost support in the caucus and the race.

Waiting for Biden

Joe Biden is another Democrat whose name is being bandied as a presidential candidate. He has served as Mr. Obama’s vice-president for seven years. Mr. Biden was a senator for 36 years before that. And he was a candidate for president twice before, unsuccessfully.

President Obama said, “Both Joe and Hillary are wonderful people, great friends.” Mr. Biden met recently with Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leader of the liberal Democrats. He has kept people guessing by keeping quiet about his plans.

Larry Sabato is with the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. He has this message for nervous Democrats: “Take a deep breath.” In his newsletter Sabato’s Crystal Ball, he wrote, “polls taken in 2015 about the 2016 presidential contest are as solid as a sand castle built on the sea shore — and it’s hurricane season.”

Words in This Story

interrupted – v. to make a break in the motion of an event or speech

untrustworthy – adv. not believable or reliable

popularity – adv. being liked by a majority of people

relevant – adj. current, having to do with the matter at hand

criticize – v. to judge, usually in a harsh way

inquiry – n. the process of looking for answers

caucus – n. meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement

bandied – v. throwing ideas back and forth in a discussion

take a deep breath - expression  pause, stay calm

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

9 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。