Seeking a candidate to love, voters find Clinton one to like

[webfact]

Seeking a candidate to love, voters find Clinton one to like
By LISA LERER and KATHLEEN RONAYNE

DERRY, N.H. (AP) — Inside the arena, the roar was deafening when Hillary Rodham Clinton took the stage at the annual convention of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Thousands of people jumped to their feet to welcome their party's White House front-runner with cheers and noisemakers emblazoned with her campaign logo.

Outside the hall, a far less joyous conversation was taking place.

"She kind of turns me off," said Marsha Campaniello, a 63-year-old real estate appraiser from Concord, as she walked out of the arena. "But I'd rather have a Democrat in there as opposed to a Republican."

At ice cream shops and book stores, at summer fairs and fall festivals, Clinton is running into voters such as Campaniello and their questions about her character and her commitment to the liberal values they hold dear.

They are Democrats, and some independents, too, weighing a desire to keep the White House in the party's hands against the ambivalence they have for the former secretary of state and New York senator.

The Associated Press interviewed nearly 70 Democratic and independent voters in the past two weeks, all at places where Clinton has campaigned in the first-to-vote states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Those voters expressed a litany of concerns with Clinton and her candidacy. Some say they are skeptical of her positions on income inequality and Wall Street regulation. Others question her honesty and how she handles controversy, including recent inquiries into her use of a private email account and server.

Many said they simply feel they lack a connection with Clinton, often for reasons they cannot seem to articulate.

"She certainly could manage the country," said Jim Gallagher, a 61-year-old, real estate investor from Manchester. "But she just rubs me the wrong way. But, hey, you don't have to like her, right?"

Such tepid reactions have led Clinton, once a commanding favorite, into a fall campaign where she will have the competition she long has said she expects — be it from the insurgent bid of Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and his promise of "political revolution" or the possible late entry of Vice President Joe Biden into the race.

Clinton remains the odds-on choice. No candidate in either party has as sophisticated a campaign operation or depth of establishment support.

But the unenthusiastic reaction her candidacy receives from some Democratic voters shows that despite her nearly quarter-century on the public stage, Clinton struggles to inspire the kind of personal passion that catapulted first-term Illinois Sen. Barack Obama into the White House.

"I felt very strongly that I was going to vote for Obama whether he was going to be the candidate or not. He was going to be my candidate," said Amy Pepin, a social worker from Bow. "And this time I feel like I'm making a more practical choice."

Sabrina Chen, 47, a family business owner in Pelham, puts it more simply: "I like Hillary. I fell in love with Obama."

Clinton appeared to acknowledge the challenge in a recent interview with the comedian Lena Dunham, when she described the race as sometimes being a choice "between people that none of whom excite you."

She added: "If you can't get excited, be pragmatic."

The public's opinion of Clinton has grown steadily more negative since she returned to partisan politics with the April launch of her second White House campaign, after a period of high ratings while she was secretary of state.

Gallup surveys conducted in August and September found her positive ratings at their lowest point since 1992, her final year in Arkansas before becoming first lady.

Most Democratic voters still say they would back Clinton in the general election. She remains ahead of Sanders and Biden in a number of other measures, such as campaign cash and party endorsements, although Sanders' fundraising in the past three months fell just shy of Clinton's.

Biden's potential campaign, by comparison, is just that. He has raised no money for an operation that exists only on paper.

At the state party convention last month, Clinton's staff and volunteers flooded the arena, handing out more than 750 T-shirts and hundreds of signs. Many of those supporters flowed out of the stadium after her address, leaving behind a smaller, but equally enthusiastic, crowd for Sanders.

"It was a good speech and I warmed up to her a little bit more after seeing it," said Connie Wilson, 79, a retiree from Wolfeboro who is backing Sanders. "My thought was Bernie has done his job by getting her to say and get involved in the things that he cares about."

Some voters said Clinton is trying to co-opt Sanders' message in the early voting states, hoping to woo liberal voters by focusing on campaign finance, wage inequality and other issues.

"It just seems like the longer the campaign goes on the more she tries to emulate the popular things that Bernie is going for," said Spencer Jackson, 25, from Sunapee. "She makes a stand against super PACs but has been known to receive money from them. It's a double standard with her own convictions."

Aides say the fundamentals of Clinton's campaign — steady fundraising, detailed policy positions, a national organizing strategy — remain strong. Clinton, they say, must ride out the Sanders summer surge and reconnect with voters, who they say don't really know her despite her decades in office and the national spotlight.

"Hillary is engaging and talking with people in a very personal way," said Mike Vlacich, Clinton's state director in New Hampshire. "Things don't happen overnight in the New Hampshire primary, but we will have done all the important groundwork."

For some, the rebranding has been convincing. Few doubt her competence; many cite her extensive experience in Washington as an asset.

"I think in 2008 she was more standoffish and this time around I think she's very warm, very engaged," said Marilyn Lieto, 75, a former candidate for the state House from Groton who knocked on 3,000 doors for Clinton in 2008.

John Webber, of Des Moines, Iowa, praised her work in government as an asset. "I know she's not as much a 'feel your pain' person like Bill Clinton, but you don't need that to be president. It's not as important as being able to get things done."

Still, voters say that Clinton's handling of her use of a private email account and server, as well as the fundraising practices of her family foundation, have undermined her message, as have months of Republican attacks casting her as untrustworthy.

"She's very inspiring as a speaker and a woman, but she carries a lot of politics with her," said Donna Colabella, 66, a mental health counselor from Manchester. "There is a lot of baggage with Hillary that concerns me."

As she waited for Clinton to address an audience recently in Des Moines, supporter Marta Morse worried about that kind of voter fatigue. "People get stuck on the past and they don't want to give her a chance to move on," she said. "I like her because she puts up with all the muck that gets thrown at her."

This month will offer Clinton a series of high-profile opportunities to confront those issues, starting with the opening Democratic debate on Oct. 13 and then in public testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi nine days later.

Speculation about Biden's plans swirls, a prospect that intrigues some voters. Splitting an ice cream sundae with his 2-year-old son on a late-summer night in Derry, Michael Thiele, 33, said he hoped the vice president could rekindle the kind of enthusiasm he felt for Obama's campaign.

"If Biden decided to run tomorrow, I'd be in his campaign office signing up," he said. "It does come down to sincerity now that I think of it. And I think he's really sincere."

In spite of their doubts, Thiele and other Democrats believe Clinton remains the best candidate their party has when it comes to winning next November. In the end, that might be just enough to win their support in the primaries that come first.

"She is who she is. I think she's going to make a fine president," said retiree Susan Richards, 65, walking out of a Portsmouth bookstore where Clinton greeted voters just two weeks earlier. "I don't think she's ideal, but I think she'll be good."
___

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas in Laconia and Catherine Lucey in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-10-05

[ezzra]

"Inside the arena, the roar was deafening when Hillary Rodham Clinton took the stage at the annual convention of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "

Yes, we have seen and heard those roars many time before when Obama was giving his speeches,

and look what has left of those roars now, nothing but a whimper.....

[shirtless]

Hillary is a useless old bag , if she gets to be president America is screwed, get rid of these pre paid politicians and get some people who are genuine politicians today have made democracy a joke.

[khwaibah]

VOTE TRUMP!!!

[Dondon]

she is a criminal.

[canuckamuck]

All part of the plan. The puppet masters want to continue installing corrupt anti American candidates. But in order to make someone as odious as Hilary the President. They need to make sure that only questionable and easily mocked candidates are put up against her. This way she can be the prettiest pig in the fair. At the same time the republican clown car continues to equate foolishness with conservatism. Much to the chagrin of intelligent conservatives who find they now have no dog in the race.

[boomerangutang]

I feel similar to those interviewed in NH. I like Hillary and think she would make a good prez, but I'm more jazzed about Sanders. Biden would be good also. Even with their slight faults, either of those 3 are a country mile better than anything the Reps can dish up. Trump showed his true colors when he was asked a question by one his lying xenophobic supporters ('Obama is a Muslim' 'Obama was not born in the US') ....yet Trump didn't even hint at correcting the questioner in that scenario. Dems may be boring, but Reps are downright scary.

[quandow]

The corporate media and the puppet masters who control them are starting to become very concerned. ALL the leaders in the GOP are outside the "business as usual" politicians, and Bernie Sanders is absolutely giving them ulcers. What happens in the U.S. TRULY trickles down to the rest of the world, and the corporate takeover of the earth is creating horrible results. If you are an American expat and will vote in the primaries, give a serious look at Senator Sanders. He's calling out the corporate shills and declaring the U.S. an oligarchy. #feelthebern

the

[godden]

If she gets in, it's bye bye America as you know it.

[angel9999]

For me the only choice Is Bernie Sanders, as far as i can see he has not ties to Wall street or big Corp....HIs Agenda has a history, not what people want to hear....now.....

His Agenda will help most of Americans, not just the few....but we have to win back control of the Congress.....

[ggt]

Edward Snowden exposed classified information...he is wanted for treason.

Hillary Clinton exposed classified information...she is wanted for President.

What is wrong with this picture?

[boomerangutang]

If she gets in, it's bye bye America as you know it.

America as we know it, is 45% fat people on welfare. It's a crazy gun shooter every few weeks, it's a republican prez every 10 yrs or so who starts a war on false pretenses. Is that what we have to say 'bye bye' to?

[boomerangutang]

Edward Snowden exposed classified information...he is wanted for treason.

Hillary Clinton exposed classified information...she is wanted for President.

What is wrong with this picture?

except Hillary didn't expose anything classified. If you look at the emails, there are mentions of what sort of pants suit she wore at an official function and stuff like that. You got a problem with that?

[pitrevie]

Edward Snowden exposed classified information...he is wanted for treason.

Hillary Clinton exposed classified information...she is wanted for President.

What is wrong with this picture?

except Hillary didn't expose anything classified. If you look at the emails, there are mentions of what sort of pants suit she wore at an official function and stuff like that. You got a problem with that?

You mustn't let the facts get in the way of their fantasies. I know lets have another Benghazi inquiry to establish the facts. Well we now all know why the GOP have wanted the umpteenth inquiry.

[Pinot]

HRC is loathed in Wingnuttia. Posts by the TVTBs (Thai Visa tea baggers) drip with hate.

I'm not a big Hillary guy but I don't have any problem with her being President, especially over any of the far right loony tune candidates (every Republican). Just as long as a Republican President can't ever make another Supreme Court Justice pick, I'm happy.

Another Wingnut Supreme Court Justice and it's really bye bye America. It ain't going to happen. These GOP candidates are all pathetic, it's HRC in a slam dunk.

Little Marko Rubio seems to be the candidate de jour. HRC vs. Marko?

[wombat]

Seeking a candidate to love, voters find Clinton one to like

​i don't know why

her hubby left a bad taste in monicas mouth.

[DennisF]

Seeking a candidate to love, voters find Clinton one to like

​i don't know why

her hubby left a bad taste in monicas mouth.

You know this from personal experience???

WOW!

Did he bite you too??

[Loptr]

The only people that could find Hillary likable are the unimformed or those that are just plan ignorant... Do some research people...

[quandow]

HRC is loathed in Wingnuttia. Posts by the TVTBs (Thai Visa tea baggers) drip with hate.

I'm not a big Hillary guy but I don't have any problem with her being President, especially over any of the far right loony tune candidates (every Republican). Just as long as a Republican President can't ever make another Supreme Court Justice pick, I'm happy.

Another Wingnut Supreme Court Justice and it's really bye bye America. It ain't going to happen. These GOP candidates are all pathetic, it's HRC in a slam dunk.

Little Marko Rubio seems to be the candidate de jour. HRC vs. Marko?

Hillary is nothing but Republican lite. A vote for her is a vote for the corporate oligarchy. Senator Bernie Sanders has been faithful to his record for 30 years. Check him out. #feelthebern

[quandow]

[pitrevie]

The only people that could find Hillary likable are the unimformed or those that are just plan ignorant... Do some research people...

You are probably right but then when I vote I don't particularly factor that into my reasons for voting for a candidate but rather on their policies. However if it was a popularity contest then given the choice between her and some of the loathsome candidates the GOP has presented I would have no problem voting for her.

[hakuho]

unvarnished stupidity on this forum....the acts of sell-out politicians will not cure the ills of America, because America is not controlled by Americans. she was sold off decades ago. America is a startup that was designed to perform two main activities,

1) to function as a clearing house for laundered money for the Rothschllds and other Eurobanks....and

2) to provide those same money masters with an endless supply of cannon fodder for their wars...

The U.S.A.,( 20 wars in its first 200 years), where all men were, self-evidently, created equal by a gang of slaveholders-max irony there.

Now, the absolute dregs of society-the trailer trash Clintons- want back into the WH....for those on the fence in their evaluation of these two monsters check out their history. Start with the importation of drugs by the C.I.A. overseen by then governor bubba at Mena Airport, Arkansas.

Search online for 'cocaine mena airport' and read the documentation...then note that it was Bill that refused to reach over and capture OBL because he was too busy selling out our missile systems to China and taking millions for his personal war chest....and Hilary is a venal criminal that everyone knows about but endures because its all about...wait for it...FOLLOW THE MONEY!

[ggt]

Edward Snowden exposed classified information...he is wanted for treason.

Hillary Clinton exposed classified information...she is wanted for President.

What is wrong with this picture?

except Hillary didn't expose anything classified. If you look at the emails, there are mentions of what sort of pants suit she wore at an official function and stuff like that. You got a problem with that?

No problem at all...if you do not have a problem with this.

About 150 more of Hillary Clinton's work emails have recently been designated as containing classified information, the U.S. State Department said on Monday ahead of the public release of the latest batch of emails Clinton handed over last year.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/hillary-more-emails-classified/2015/08/31/id/672867/#ixzz3ngIpH5pU

Edited October 5, 2015 by ggt

[sgtsabai]

First, newsmax has nothing to do with real news, just right wing hate propaganda. Look, I can't stand Hillary, she is a neocon/neoliberal and like Obama a Republican in disguise. She was long ago bought and sold by big finance, Wall Street Criminals and banksters. Her current swing to populism is bull, just like Obama's was. She will do little to nothing for the middle/working class. Bernie Sanders is the only real choice for the American people. In spite of the corporate lame stream media spin, he is very electable if he can get past Hillary's money and soon to come thinly disguised propaganda against him. Even if Hillary manages to somehow win the primary, not with my vote she won't, nobody in their correct mind will vote for the clown bus and that includes the Donald. Yes, there are teabaggers and other ill-informed people that will vote against their own interests, but most of them are racist, bigots, misogynists, homophobic, right wing religious wacko. Even with the Republican voter suppression, gerrymandering and more than likely voting machine hacking the clown bus will not win.

Pinot, 100% correct, another right wing corporatist, federalist un-Supreme Court justice and America's already rapid slide down hill will pick up speed, rapidly.

[canuckamuck]

She's already picked out an outfit for the inaugural ball

[Srikcir]

Edward Snowden exposed classified information...he is wanted for treason.

Hillary Clinton exposed classified information...she is wanted for President.

What is wrong with this picture?

Your lack of logic?

[otherstuff1957]

Edward Snowden exposed classified information...he is wanted for treason.

Hillary Clinton exposed classified information...she is wanted for President.

What is wrong with this picture?

Now that gives me an idea: SNOWDEN FOR PRESIDENT!

[boomerangutang]

Seeking a candidate to love, voters find Clinton one to like

​i don't know why

her hubby left a bad taste in monicas mouth.

....and you know what semen tastes like?

[theoldgit]

Highly offensive photo removed.

Edit: Along with numerous off-topic posts and replies.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Scott

[Pinot]

HRC drives the wingnuts into a frenzy. She'll make a great President.