Trump Can't Score Points on Hillary by Attacking Bill

Since Donald Trump’s debate performance on Monday, he and his surrogates have teased the idea that they might attack Hillary Clinton for Bill Clinton’s past infidelities. Let’s put aside the propriety of this attack, and analyze it strictly as a political maneuver. It is dubious whether this would effectively diminish Hillary’s standing. In fact, the polling evidence points in the opposite direction, quite conclusively: focusing on Bill Clinton’s improprieties actually enhances her reputation.

Consider the following graph, courtesy of the Gallup poll, which tracks Hillary Clinton’s favorable rating since her entrance to the national stage in 1992.