If you guessed Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, you were right:
In the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, both candidates’ favorable ratings were ‘underwater,’ meaning more people dislike them than like them. Clinton’s favorable rating is 46 percent, and her unfavorable rating is 52 percent. And Trump’s favorable rating is 30 percent and his unfavorable is 67 percent. Even more stunning is Trump’s ‘strongly’ unfavorable rating among 56 percent of all Americans (these are people who would crawl over broken glass to vote against him). Really stunning.
To see just how unpopular these candidates are relative to some of their predecessors, consider that in October 2004, John Kerry was at 52 percent favorable and 45 percent unfavorable, while George W. Bush was at 55 percent favorable and 44 percent unfavorable; in October 2008, Barack Obama was at 62 percent favorable and 34 percent unfavorable, while John McCain was at 55 percent favorable and 40 percent unfavorable.
What does it say about America that the party process appears likely, after last night’s vote, to end up giving the American people a choice between two people they dislike that much?
What does it say about the GOP establishment that their ineptitude and unwillingness to coalesce around Ted Cruz may end up nominating the only candidate who can’t beat Hillary?
Maggie Gallagher is a senior fellow at the American Principles Project and can be followed on Twitter @MaggieGallaghe.
