WaPo/ABC Poll: Hillary Polarizing, But Still Crushes All Rivals

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that while a plurality of Americans view former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a strong leader, she is also largely seen as a polarizing figure with a marked divide in how she is perceived by Republicans and Democrats, according to The Washington Post.

"Overall, she is seen as a strong leader and as someone with new ideas for the country," according to the survey results. "But on questions of honesty and trustworthiness, as well as on whether she understands people's problems or shares the values of average Americans, the public is split almost evenly pro and con."

In a hypothetical general election matchup, Clinton has a "decided advantage" over former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – who the poll found is leading the field of potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates – as well other potential GOP rivals.

But both Clinton and Bush are plagued by image problems, with just 33 percent of the public holding a positive view of Bush, compared with 49 percent for Clinton. And her favorability rating has been steadily declining over the past year (by nine points). Since she left her post at the State Department in 2013, her favorability rating is down 18 points, according to the Post.

"The poll was taken in the wake of controversy over her use of a private e-mail account and server while secretary of state and after reports that she deleted 30,000 personal e-mails and had the server wiped clean," according to Post writers Dan Balz and Scott Clement.

"But because the current poll comes nine months after the previous survey gauging Clinton's image, the shift cannot be completely attributed to recent revelations. Other public surveys show a steady decline beforehand, but also find negative reactions to her personal e-mail use."

Clinton maintains a "commanding lead" for her party's presidential nomination, with a 6-1 lead over Vice President Joe Biden and progressive Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and much larger leads over former Virginia Sen. James Webb, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who poll in the low single-digits.

In a hypothetical general election, Clinton beats Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio by double-digits, according to the Post. Bush bested the other Republicans by 53 percent to 41 percent, while Cruz fared the worst at 54 percent to 37 percent.

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