Gender gap on views toward Clinton

CNN: October 26, 2007
Gender gap on views toward Clinton

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Men and women often don’t see eye to eye. And when it comes to Hillary Clinton, there’s no exception. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll out Thursday finds that most Americans see the senator from New York as a strong leader and a likeable person who can work well with both parties, but there’s a big gender gap when it comes to several of Clinton’s key characteristics.

Close to 68 percent of those questioned see the Democratic presidential front runner as a strong leader, with 63 percent saying Clinton’s likable, 61 percent agreeing that she can work with both parties, and 57 percent feeling that Clinton cares about people. “The good news for Hillary Clinton is that a large majority of both men and women see her as a strong leader—71 percent for women, 65 percent for men. If there was a worry that there would be a huge gender gap on leadership, this poll shows that Clinton’s work to erase that is having some effect,” says CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger.


But those numbers drop when it comes to believability, honesty and trustworthiness, and admiration and it appears that the gender gap is behind the drop. "Americans are more closely divided on whether she is honest and trustworthy, shares their values, and agrees with them on important issues,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “There are big differences between men and women on several key characteristics which may shed some light on how many votes she might win from women — and how many she might lose from men — if she becomes the first woman to win a major party's presidential nomination.”

The most dramatic difference among the sexes is over admiration. Nearly 57 percent of women questioned say Clinton is someone they admire. Only 41 percent of men feel the same way.

"There is also a gender gap on two measures that may foreshadow how the general election campaign will shape up if Clinton gets that far. A majority of women say that Clinton agrees with them on issues, but only 48 percent of men feel that way. 55 percent of women say she shares their values; only 45 percent of men agree. Clinton's biggest strength — and an important one in wartime — is that 68 percent of all Americans believe she is a decisive leader," Holland said....

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/10/26/gender-gap-on-views-toward-clinton/