Advantage Hillary: Clinton widens lead as first debate looms

[EricMaundry]

Source: The Hill

Hillary Clinton has wrested back a clear advantage in polls over Donald Trump just days before their first critical debate. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll conducted this week — viewed by some election experts as the gold standard — found the Democrat leading Trump by 6 points nationally.

And while the candidates are running neck and neck in the RealClearPolitics national average, the NBC News-WSJ survey found Trump has failed to meaningfully cut into Clinton’s significant advantages with Hispanics, African-Americans, young voters, women or those with a college education.

Instead, Trump’s recent polling strength appears to have energized Clinton’s supporters, who now match Trump’s supporters in enthusiasm. And Clinton’s ace-in-the-hole is a battleground map that will require Trump to draw a near-perfect hand. The GOP nominee will have to run the table on states where the race is currently a toss-up — Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Nevada among them — and then pull out victory in a traditionally blue state.

New surveys out of New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia and Colorado show that Clinton is the favorite and will win the White House if that blue wall holds.

“Advantage Hillary,” said Brookings Institute elections scholar Bill Galston. “You can see how Trump might get close, but unless he can win a state that looks out of reach for him right now, I don’t see how he gets over the top. If the election were held tomorrow, she’d win. He needs a disruptive event, something that causes voters to break decisively in his favor.”

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/297352-clinton-regains-advantage-in-polls

[Helen Borg]

1. 538 has her at about 60%/40% now.

Better than a few days ago. Still quite uncomfortable with these chances. Nobody would gamble their house with these kinds of chances. She needs to do much better.

[Stuart G]

2. k and r..

[George II]

3. Wow - a positive Clinton article from "The Hill"! No doubt the lead will widen after the debate.

[stopbush]

4. The money quote:

"Trump’s recent polling strength appears to have energized Clinton’s supporters, who now match Trump’s supporters in enthusiasm. And Clinton’s ace-in-the-hole is a battleground map that will require Trump to draw a near-perfect hand. The GOP nominee will have to run the table on states where the race is currently a toss-up — Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Nevada among them — and then pull out victory in a traditionally blue state.

[greymattermom]

5. I can't imagine Trump talking one on one to a woman for an hour and a half

without saying something that will damage his reputation, especially with certain celebrities sitting in the front row. I wonder who else has a front row invitation.

[asiliveandbreathe]

6. I too am encouraged..but not complacent -

538 has some google polls that are considerably suspect - AZ +5, UT +4, AR +1,MT +4, OH +1, KANSAS +12, SD 1 - NJ T +1, T FL +13..it was the KANSAS number that caught my eye and made me curious....Sooooooooooo -

we need to look at ALL aspects of this election, (as we have been doing) and GOTV...be well ALL - I agree advantage Hillary -

Will he or won't he show up for the debates? //that is the question - LOL

[cynzke]

7. HERE'S A REASON!

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2016/08/23/cruel-attacks-on-richardson-couple-with-clinton-sign-in-yard/

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

8. Great news

I wish we could just jump ahead to the day after this election and have it all over with already. This is the election that never ends.

[YOHABLO]

9. Does it really take a debate to make a decision on which candidate is most qualified?

Perhaps I have a lot of time on my hands, but I have been paying attention since I was eligible to vote, over 40 years ago.

[davidn3600]

10. Most qualified doesn't always win

McCain was more qualified than Obama in 2008.

[Norbert]

13. Lots of differences between 2008 & 2016.

-McCain was running against a young fresh face on the Democratic side.

-The economy and war effort in 2008 was not doing any favors for McCain.

-McCain picked a VP choice that at first energized the Republicans but by election day the novelty wore off.

-The worst gaffe Obama even had was the "57 states" comment. The GOP can only wish that one gaffe was the only thing they had to worry about with tRUMP.

It's a little early to be measuring for WH curtains but if the bottom line today is +6% Clinton I'm feeling better than I was a week ago.

[vinny9698]

11. This is an example of Trump's answers to debate questions. An actual Trump answer

First primary debate Trump was asked, "How do you plan to build that wall?"
Trump: "“First of all, I want to build a wall, a wall that works. So important, and it’s a big part of it.
Second of all, we have a lot of really bad dudes in this country from outside, and I think Chris knows that, maybe as well as anybody.
They go. If I get elected, first day they’re gone. Gangs all over the place. Chicago, Baltimore, no matter where you look.
We have a country based on laws.”
1. He did not answer the question.
2. He went off topic.
3. His choice of 4th grade language skills.
Now if you were a high school debate judge, what would be your grade?
I foresee the same pattern of his answers on all the questions posed by the moderator and Hillary. Short non informative answer, just repeating the question. Followed by off topic word salad.
A GOP winner winner, disaster dinner.
Trump is so easy to defeat, just use his own word salad statements against him.
The more he speaks the more he insults himself.

[canetoad]

12. I don't think the debate

Is won or lost on the night. It's the reaction and discussion days later that counts.

[oasis]

14. Americans have more common sense than the MSM gives them credit for.

Actually Hillary should have a bigger lead, but I'll take this one.