I continue to wonder whether people in Hillaryland are fuming at Chris Dodd for harping on Clinton's position on illegal-immigrant drivers licences at last week's debate. Now from Dodd comes a new memo arguing that voter questions about Clinton's "integrity" and "honesty" raise doubts about her electability:
The lack of candor with which Senator Clinton answered many of the questions posed to her at the recent Democratic Presidential Candidates' Debate in Philadelphia has had a significant impact on public perceptions of her "honesty."
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released today shows that only 34% of Americans view Senator Clinton as honest, while a plurality of Americans, 43%, rate Senator Clinton negatively for "honesty." [Wall Street Journal, 11/8/07]
These findings are all the more significant in light of the fact that public polling has repeatedly shown that Americans have said that "honesty" and "integrity" are the top characteristics they are looking for in a president....
It wasn't so long ago that I recall people joking that Dodd seemed to be kissing up to Hillary in the debates, perhaps with some future cabinet post in mind. (I remember one debate moment a few weeks ago when Dodd was asked to elaborate on a crack he'd made about Hillary's electability and went to cartoonishly elaborate lengths to dodge the question.) Well, those days seem to be over.
--Michael Crowley