Democratic support for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reached a new high Thursday as her chief rival, Barack Obama, seemed to stumble again on foreign policy.
Clinton now has the support of 39.5 percent of Democrats, the highest level since Real Clear Politics began averaging national polls six months ago. That is nearly 15 points ahead of Obama, who is backed by 24.8 percent of Democrats.
The Clinton campaign hopes to widen that gap following an apparent gaffe by Obama on Thursday.
“I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance,” Obama said before pausing during an interview with The Associated Press.
“Involving civilians,” he added. “Let me scratch that. There’s been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That’s not on the table.” The halting remarks came one day after Obama tried to shore up his national security credentials by saying that if elected president, he would send troops into Pakistan to fight terrorists not targeted by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
That hawkish assertion was widely viewed as Obama’s attempt to repair any damage he might have done to his candidacy last week by promising to meet with the leaders of rogue nations without preconditions if elected president. Clinton called the promise “naive.”
Clinton aides said her rise in the polls has been fueled by a jump in support among moderate women. That crucial voting bloc, in turn, is helping Clinton outpoll Rudy Giuliani in hypothetical head-to-head matchups in which the Republican once held a commanding lead.
The latest Zogby poll shows that 62 percent of moderate women support Clinton, while 28 percent prefer Giuliani. That’s a significant increase since mid-May, when the same poll showed Clinton outpolling Giuliani among moderate women by just 49 percent to 41 percent.
“What’s making the difference is that people in America want change,” Clinton spokesman Phil Singer told The Examiner. “That desire for change is something that goes across the ideological spectrum. People recognize that Senator Clinton has the strength and experience to deliver.”
