Paul Begala tried to put the best spin on Hillary Clinton's sharp decline of support among women voters on Monday's Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN, but even he was forced to admit, "If I were running her campaign, we would take this very seriously." Begala later added, "If I were coaching her – I'd hate to say this; she would hate this – watch Donald Trump....You ask Trump a question – and yeah, sometimes, he answers; sometimes, he doesn't. He talks about what he wants to talk about." [video below]
The Daily Beast's Patricia Murphy gave a more blunt analysis: "These poll numbers are a disaster for Hillary Clinton, because these are the women...she needs to bring along with her. That's her base if she's going to even have a chance." Murphy later underlined that Hillary "has a big authenticity issue," and wondered, "Is she going to get to a general election? I didn't think we would be asking that question right now. But her numbers with women are going down so far, so fast, they've got to be very worried at this point."
Host Anderson Cooper's panel discussion segment with Begala and Murphy followed a report from correspondent Tom Foreman that spotlighted Mrs. Clinton's declining poll numbers among women. Cooper first turned to the Democratic strategist and asked, "What is going on?" Begala, who runs a pro-Clinton super PAC, replied with his spin:
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, first, that's the heart of her base. And so, you know, because of my super PAC job, I can't talk to her campaign headquarters. But I bet you a nickel: they're taking this very seriously. That is the heart of her base.
Now, some of it – she was never going to stay at 71. You have to return to earth. That was kind of a sugar rush....Foreman's reporting is exactly right. Yes, people – it's a 50/50 thing – was it wrong to use a private e-mail. That's not the kind of thing that tanks a candidacy. And, in fact, 75 percent of Democrats – in the Quinnipiac polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, all – 75 percent – so the issue is not important to them.
So, why is this happening? It's what the economists call 'opportunity cost' – right? She has not been able to get through on...these really smart policy proposals that she put out today. She had a big conversation – a big policy proposal about sexual assault – and especially on campuses...didn't get any air time. Well, that's because this other stuff is crowding her out....This is the problem: it's the e-mail controversy – and, of course, the Trump-gasm – has been crowding out Hillary's ability to connect where she's strongest – which is on policy. And she's got time. But – but if I were running her campaign, we would take this very seriously.
Cooper followed up by pointing out how Murphy, in her latest piece (titled "Why are Women Ditching Hillary?"), highlighted the Democratic presidential candidate's "very hard sell to women right now," as he put it. The Daily Beast writer responded, in part, by noting that "we've seen [Mrs. Clinton's campaign] really double down because of these poll numbers." She continued with her "poll numbers are a disaster" line, and gave two anecdotes from former Hillary supporters:
PATRICIA MURPHY, THE DAILY BEAST, COLUMNIST: Women I've spoken to, who have left Hillary Clinton and gone for Bernie Sanders instead, said they also don't trust her to live up to the promises she's making. I asked a woman who used to be a Hillary supporter, why aren't you supporting her anymore? She said, you know, the older I get, the easier it is for me to tell when somebody is lying to me. And, to me, that is just – I don't know how you turn that around if you're the Hillary Clinton campaign right now.
The CNN anchor then pointed out to Begala that "in 2008, I think Clinton won barely 50 percent of the women's vote in the primaries against Obama. There was the divide, where older women voters connected with Clinton, while the younger generation connected with Obama. It's not exactly like this is a new issue. I mean, people thought she would have gotten a lot more support from women then as well." The former adviser to Bill Clinton acknowledged that this was the case, and even as he continued his spin for Mrs. Clinton, he dropped his advice to follow the GOP frontrunner's example:
BEGALA: Well, that's true. Of course, she's running against Barack Obama – and no disrespect to anybody else in the field, including Hillary – but none of them have the kind of gifts as a politician that Barack Obama has. But she's got to make that connection.
Again, if I were coaching her – I'd hate to say this; she would hate this – watch Donald Trump. You've interviewed him, Anderson. You ask Trump a question – and yeah, sometimes, he answers; sometimes, he doesn't. He talks about what he wants to talk about....In other words, stop talking about the e-mail per se, and talk about these ideas. That's what animates her campaign. She is not – you know, a natural-born politician by any stretch. She is a policy wonk, who wants to actually enact these laws.
Cooper used Begala's point to bring up the authenticity issue surrounding the Democratic presidential candidate. Murphy responded by outlining her point about Mrs. Clinton's lack of authenticity:
COOPER: You know, Patricia, to Paul's point – I mean, it does seem like she follows a lot of other people's advice; and, I mean, with Donald Trump, it seems like he's not following other people's advice. This is inherently what his character is like, and – I mean, I guess it comes down to that authenticity issue.
MURPHY: I think she has a big authenticity issue. If people who know her say she's wonderful; she's lovely – I'm sure Paul Begala would say this. They love Hillary Clinton – people who know her. That is not coming across from Hillary Clinton. Even when she said she's sorry, it doesn't really feel like she's sorry. It seems like somebody put a gun to her and said – listen, you need to say you're sorry – and that's exactly how it feels. It doesn't feel truthful. It doesn't feel honest.
I think Hillary Clinton would love to run against Donald Trump. The Clinton campaign tells me, listen, let us get to a general election; let us run against a Republican. We don't want the conversation to be, do you like Hillary Clinton as a person? It's – don't you think Hillary would be a better president than Donald Trump? The problem is, is she going to get to a general election? I didn't think we would be asking that question right now. But her numbers with women are going down so far, so fast, they've got to be very worried at this point.
