An “anchor” is either the mainstay of an enterprise—think “anchorman” in a mile-relay or in a TV broadcast—but it is also what holds you in one place and prevents movement. If a boat anchor is tied around your neck, it takes you to the bottom.
Seldom has the ambiguity or contrasting meaning of “anchor” been more apt than in the case of Bill Clinton. Politico reported Friday about the Big Dog’s latest travails on the campaign trail on behalf of Hillary, including the continuing heckling he gets from leftists over the crime bill of 1994—the one that Democrats everywhere are rushing to repudiate:
But he also has been criticized for having lost his “magic” on the stump, knocked by loyal foot soldiers for talking more about his own record than about his wife, and left by his wife’s campaign to defend himself against a steady drumbeat of criticism of the 1994 crime bill, a significant part of his legacy. He’s also emerged as a prime target for Donald Trump, who has branded him an “abuser” of women.
Yes indeed, good times ahead.
But buried in the story is this remarkable sentence: “President Clinton had a 53% favorability rating in a January Washington Post poll.”
Fifty-three percent approval rating!? That is astonishingly low for an ex-president. We always like to think well of our former presidents, and usually do after the passage of time. This is 13 points lower than his public approval rating the day he left office in 2001 (before the corrupt pardons came to light a couple days later*). I think George W. Bush is polling higher than this right now. Looks like maybe the Clinton scandals are taking a toll. It may also be a proxy measure for how far left the Democratic Party is now heading; they are turning their backs on the record of the most successful postwar Democratic president.
Meanwhile, out in Nevada yesterday Hillary struggled—and may well have used some strong-armed tactics (or used boat anchors around the transport of some Sanders supporters)—to eke out a narrow two-delegate delegate edge over Sanders in the state Democratic convention. The Sanders camp is crying foul, but I like this little detail:
The entire convention was plagued by problems, as Sanders supporters decried various voice vote decisions, the delegate counts and booed Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
They booed Babs “Call-Me-Senator” Boxer? Maybe she’s just jealous that Sanders has poached her home turf as the most crazed leftist in the Senate.
* The media, but certainly Trump in a debate, ought to make a point of asking Hillary what her pardon policy would be as president, given her husband’s reckless use of the power. A nice little reminder of another chapter of Clinton corruption.
UPDATE: There’s video of Boxer.
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