Public Approval: A Consolation Prize for Clinton?
Hillary Rodham Clinton wanted badly to be president, and she fought a hard but losing battle against Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential nominating campaign.
But a poll released Wednesday by the Clarus Research Group -- which shows Clinton with a much higher approval rating as Obama's secretary of State than Obama has as president -- might make you wonder who got the better end of the deal.
The poll of 800 registered voters who identified themselves as "news watchers," conducted Dec. 7-12, showed Obama's rating at 51 percent approval and 45 percent disapproval. Those figures are similar to those seen in other recent national polls and reflect a sharp drop in support as the first-year president has undertaken an aggressive but controversial agenda to address the struggling economy and issues such as health care, energy, the environment and the war in Afghanistan.
Clinton -- who lived in the White House as first lady to President Bill Clinton and later was a U.S. senator from New York -- enjoyed an approval rating as secretary of State of 75 percent to 21 percent negative.
Clinton's performance in her Cabinet post received the approval of 96 percent of the Democratic respondents. But what is truly remarkable is that Clinton, who had very few Republican fans as first lady, senator or presidential candidate, received approval from 57 percent of Republican respondents, as well as 65 percent of independents.
While Obama also remains overwhelming popular among Democrats (93 percent approval), his support has tanked among Republicans (19 percent) and independents (33 percent).
Clinton, who received some consideration as a possible vice presidential pick for the 2008 Democratic ticket, also currently is enjoying a better ride than the man Obama chose instead, Joseph R. Biden Jr. Biden's numbers in the poll were 50 percent approval and 41 percent disapproval.
The poll suggests that the Obama administration is holding public support better on defense and foreign policy issues than on the economy and other domestic issues. Among the other administration officials measured in the survey, the only one who came close to Clinton was Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who had 69 percent approval and 20 percent disapproval.
By contrast, the most unpopular figure in the survey was Lawrence Summers, the president's chief economic adviser, who was at 25 percent approval and 41 percent disapproval. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner broke even at 44 percent approval and 45 percent disapproval, while Attorney General Eric Holder (41-35) and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (41-36) were narrowly in positive territory.
Among high-ranking White House West Wingers, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had a 40-40 score while presidential adviser David Axelrod was at 38-36.
And there might be some sheepish looks if White House press secretary Robert Gibbs ever discusses this poll with the president. While his approval rating of 50 percent is 1 point lower than Obama's, his disapproval rating of 33 percent is much lower.
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