By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--August 12, 2015
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Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has rocketed past longtime front-runner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, a stunning turn in a race once considered a lock for the former secretary of state, a new Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald poll shows. Sanders leads Clinton 44-37 percent among likely Democratic primary voters, the first time the heavily favored Clinton has trailed in the 2016 primary campaign, according to the poll of 442 Granite-Staters. Vice President Joe Biden got 9 percent support in the test primary match-up. The other announced Democrats in the race, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and former Virginia Gov. Jim Webb, barely register at 1 percent or below.As I mentioned above, that's great news for Sanders, but it doesn't really mean all that much. That's because 89% of respondents are resigned to a horrific fate in which Hillary Clinton becomes their eventual nominee. Like teenagers in a slasher movie, Dem voters want to escape their relentless pursuer, but they're well aware that they're probably doomed. Only 11% think Bernie Sanders can overcome the Clinton juggernaut. To sum up everything the MSNBC talking heads just said, Bernie Sanders is the perfect candidate...for a couple of states. Hillary is the perfect candidate for almost no states, but she's got the money and power to go the distance. The real story here is just how unenthusiastic her supporters are. They're looking for any alternative but, so far, they've been offered no one of substance. The question of whether or not she can overcome that apathy will hinge upon two things. A: How much Democrats despise her eventual opponent, and B: her ability to fire up her own party. B is already a non-starter. To say she's an unpopular candidate is an understatement. At this point, she looks an awful lot like the John McCain of the left - an old throwback who's there because it's "her turn." So, her hopes fall upon the Republicans' choice of candidate. If it's someone she can successfully (albeit falsely) portray as a monster, her chances will improve dramatically. If GOP voters saddle her with a candidate who has even a modicum of appeal, she's in hot water.
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