Hillary Hate Isn't New; but Reason Behind It Has Changed

Supporters of Hillary Clinton who feel she's on the receiving end of undue amounts of sheer hatred might want to read an analysis on the subject at Slate by Michelle Goldberg. It doesn't refute that this hatred exists—in fact, the piece revisits articles on the same theme from 20 years ago or longer. Lots of people have always hated Clinton, it seems. But after interviewing voters on the subject, Goldberg concludes that why she's hated has changed over time. "Strikingly, the reasons people commonly give for hating Clinton now are almost the exact opposite of the reasons people gave for hating her in the 1990s," writes Goldberg. "Back then, she was a self-righteous ideologue; now she’s a corrupt tool of the establishment. Back then, she was too rigid; now she’s too flexible."

Goldberg's piece includes snippets from her interviews with voters of different ages and political perspectives ("programmed and almost robotic," says a 49-year-old man; "disingenuous and she lies blatantly," says a 31-year-old woman). But the animosity doesn't seem to stem from policy, writes Goldberg. "It’s also driven by some ineffable quality of charisma, or the lack of it," and she chalks up some of this to gender: "Americans tend not to like ambitious women with loud voices." The piece also suggests that winding up with Donald Trump as an opponent might be a stroke of luck for Clinton, because Trump's attacks on Bill Clinton's infidelity might be the one thing that softens independent and moderate GOP women toward her. Read the full piece. (Or click to read another assessment of her likability.)