Most Americans think the country is tired of hearing about Clinton’s 'damn emails', Americans aren’t socialists – or capitalists, voters cooler toward a Biden run
The emails
Democrats cheered when Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton’s use of private email as Secretary of State at the Democratic primary debate. But many non-Democrats are also tired of hearing about Clinton’s “damn emails”, according to a new YouGov poll.
57% of adults believe it is probably true that "the American people are sick and tired of hearing about (Hillary Clinton’s) damn e-mails". 30% disagree, while 13% are unsure.
Unsurprisingly, Democrats overwhelmingly suspect “the American people” are ready to move on from the email story, which has dogged Clinton’s campaign for months. 82% agree with Sanders. Yet half (51%) of independents and two-fifths (38%) of Republicans also think the senator from Vermont is on to something.
According to the poll, 61% of Americans have heard “a lot” about the Clinton email story. And asked whether they personally believe the story is getting too much attention from the media, 48% say it is, versus 25% who want the media to talk about it more (only 15% believe the media is getting the balance right).
Socialism
Another memorable exchange on Tuesday came when CNN host Anderson Cooper asked Sanders – who has described himself as a “democratic socialist” – if he considered himself a capitalist. (Sanders said "no".)
Socialism remains less popular than capitalism in the United States: only 25% of adults have a favorable opinion of it, while 48% view capitalism positively. Among Democrats, however, the balance is flipped, with 49% favorable to socialism compared to 37% for capitalism. In May, capitalism and socialism were tied at 43% favorable. What’s more, more Democrats say Sanders’ “democratic socialist” label makes them more likely to support him (20%) than say it would turn them away (6%).
But do Americans really think in terms of these labels?
Re-imagining Cooper’s question to Sanders, respondents were asked if they consider themselves to be capitalists, socialists, or neither. Capitalists outnumber socialists by three-to-one (30% to 9%) overall, but the majority say neither (46%) or “Not sure” (15%). Most independents and most Democrats are in neither the "socialist" nor the "capitalist" camp (though 21% identify as socialists, versus 14% as capitalists). Most Republicans (57%), however, call themselves capitalists.
Joe Biden
The American public is more doubtful than before. Last weekend, 57% of Americans said Biden still had time to decide about a run. Post-debate, the share who say it’s too late has risen seven points to 30%, and the share who say he has time has fallen nine points to 48%. Among Democrats specifically there is a slightly smaller shift in the same direction.
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Full poll results can be found here and topline results and margin of error here.
