The latest poll following the attacks in Paris, by Fox News [9], shows Donald Trump moving ahead of Democrat-front-runner Hillary Clinton (in a head-to-head match up if the election were held today), but it is the turmoiling below the surface of the GOP nominations that is garnering most headlines. After a week or two of hope for GOP leadership, as Ben Carson appeared to catch up to Trump, the retired neurosurgon's lies and weakness on foreign policy ("he clearly has no idea what he's talking about," as one Iowa GOP insider noted), have sent his poll numbers reeling... and Cruz surging.
Top Trumps... [10]
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But Cruz catches a bid as Carson collapses... (as The Right Scoop reports) [12]
NBC News has a new nationwide surveymonkey poll [13] out today, with a very large sample size of over 2400 that are Republican or who lean Republican, that shows Ted Cruz surging 8 points to second place into a tie with Ben Carson with 18%. Trump is of course still in first place with 28%.
The interesting thing about this poll is that we can see the history all the way back to April of this year, and in this new polling Cruz is higher than he’s ever been, especially as of late:
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Also Carson was tied with Trump the last time this poll took place in late October, however he has fallen a significant amount to 18%. It looks like Trump has increased in the last 15 days or so a few points.
Rubio has increased, but only by a couple of points since the last poll.
Here are a couple of charts that show how the candidates are doing in a few subcategories:
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[18]As Politico reports, [19] the emergence of foreign policy as a central issue in the presidential campaign poses the greatest threat to Ben Carson -- no other GOP candidate has as much vulnerability on the issue.
Last week’s terror attacks in Paris — combined with a number of missteps on international issues — imperil Carson’s status as a leading candidate, according to the insiders, who said the retired pediatric neurosurgeon has failed to articulate coherent foreign policy or shown command of the issues. A resounding 71 percent of Republicans said Carson was the most vulnerable among the 14 GOP hopefuls on foreign policy — far more than any other candidate.
“He clearly has no idea what he’s talking about,” said one South Carolina Republican.
“Ben Carson's complete ineptitude makes you long for the days of ‘Uz-beki-beki-stan-stan,’” added an Iowa Republican, referring to a disastrous Herman Cain interview four years ago.
Foreign affairs were never Carson’s strength but the issue took on new resonance after the terror attacks in Paris last week. Since then, Carson has faltered in interviews, and a New York Times story earlier this week quoted an 83-year-old Carson adviser who described the candidate as needing intense coaching “to make him smart.”
“Carson is so clueless,” said an Iowa GOP insider. “He thinks the Kurds are a special kind of Wisconsin cheese.”
On a lighter note, perhaps, as The Oinion so eloquently noted, despite public outcry against his incendiary comments on women and minorities, Donald Trump is still the leading Republican candidate...
[20]
Here are some reasons Trump stays so popular with his supporters:
- Highly relatable lack of qualifications for holding government office
- Americans’ appreciation for classic underdog story of man who started with only several hundred million dollars and went on to make several billion dollars
- Only candidate to publicly state willingness to make America great again
- Exploits other Republican candidates’ weaknesses by allowing them to open their mouths and speak on issues
- Very, very handsome
- Voters eager to see presidential library with three infinity pools and rooftop driving range
- Bolstered by impassioned endorsement from Donald Trump
- Eccentric, megalomaniac billionaire still more relatable to average American than anyone willing to dedicate life to politics
- Appeals to widespread desire to see nation implode sooner rather than later
Source: The Onion [21]
