Obama 35 Percent More Likeable Than Clinton. Does it Matter?

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A new FOX News poll [pdf] asks poll respondents if they find the two leading Democratic candidates for president “likeable.” The results: Hillary Clinton is considered likeable by 56% of respondents, Barack Obama by a whopping 76%. Even 68% of self-identified Republicans like BHO.

So my question is this — is the huge difference in how people perceive them a product of personality differences or the fact that Clinton has been dragged through the mud of several prominent campaigns? To put it another way, will Obama’s numbers drop after some extended time in the national spotlight?

For what it’s worth, respondents were much more likely to label Clinton a “strong leader” than Obama, but they were more likely to label Obama “honest and trustworthy” than Clinton.

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

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