Most of the numbers in today’s Washington Post poll are in line with what we’ve seen: A big lead for Donald Trump with Ben Carson a strong second on the GOP side, and Hillary Clinton’s lead dropping quickly on the Democratic side. They find 72 percent of Americans believe that politicians cannot be trusted (surprise!) and two-thirds think the country’s political system is dysfunctional.
Among the general electorate of registered voters, the numbers for Trump are pretty bad: only 35 percent say Trump is honest and trustworthy, 59 percent say he isn’t; only 29 percent say Trump “understands the problems of people like you” and 67 percent say he doesn’t; and only 33 percent agree Trump “has the kind of personality and temperament it takes to serve effectively as president” and 63 percent say he doesn’t.
The numbers for Hillary Clinton aren’t that much better. Only 39 percent say she’s honest and trustworthy, and 56 percent say no. “Understanding the problems of people like you” was the question Democrats traditionally did terrifically on, but Hillary’s in trouble here, too. Just 46 percent say she does, 51 percent say she doesn’t. She still does pretty well on the question of “personality and temperament,” with 56 percent saying hers is well-suited for the presidency, 41 percent saying “no.”
The good news for Hillary is that the electorate is split on whether Hillary’s e-mail is a “legitimate issue” in next year’s election; 44 percent say it is, 49 percent say it isn’t. But only 32 percent say she stayed “within regulations” with her private e-mail server; 51 percent say she broke regulations.