[caption id=”attachment_147408″ align=”aligncenter” width=”1024″](AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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The dominance of Hillary Clinton to Democratic voters might be keeping Donald Trump at the top of the polls.
Thus is the argument of David Weigel in an analysis for the Washington Post.
The false idol gets enshrined, then torn down for the next idol, and endlessly repeats the cycle.
After recounting the fickle character of campaign analysis, Weigel explains the interplay between the Democratic and Republican candidates.
“Democrats control their panic about as effectively as babies control their cries on airplanes. Republicans have noticed. On talk radio, and on the trail, Clinton has been downgraded from a tough opponent to a piñata,” Weigel said.
When Clinton looks inevitable and weak, the Republicans experiment. If Clinton is in such bad shape, then the GOP can nominate a non-traditional or hard-line candidate. No need for a McCain or a Romney when a Trump or a Carson could topple Clinton.
This picture is complicated, however. It’s still more than a year from the election, and both presidential candidate fields aren’t set in stone. If Joe Biden seeks the Democratic nomination, he could steal voters from Clinton while leaving Bernie Sanders supporters unmoved.
Clinton isn’t inevitable. Sanders has been beating Clinton in New Hampshire, even though Clinton retains a strong lead nationally. In a general election match-up, polls that reflect numerous Republican candidates beating Clinton might worry Democrats enough to change their presumptive nominee.
The piñata status of Clinton might lead to her downfall, leaving the Republicans in a weaker position. It might be said that, as goes Clinton, so goes Trump.
