June 8, 2007

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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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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