Fox’s Charles Krauthammer gave Special Report viewers and staff a belated Christmas present last week when he declared that Hillary Clinton will be a “weak candidate.”
In a December 26 discussion about the early handicapping of the 2016 presidential race, Krauthammer discussed Clinton’s chances in a general election. Of course, host Shannon Bream wasted little time “asking” if Benghazi would be a factor.
Not in the primary, Krauthammer said. It wasn’t clear how much of a factor it would be in the general. Regardless, he considered Clinton a likely loser:
I think she is going to be rather weak if she decides to run, which I think she likely is. She’s gonna be a relatively weak opponent, and Republicans, I think, are going to have a really good shot at the White House.
Later, Nina Easton rebutted. “I would disagree that she won’t be a strong candidate. I think she will be a very strong candidate. And she also polls a lot of independent women, Republican women who are, who find her candidacy very appealing. I think the other factor to look at here is that the Republican party is still in the midst of a civil war, and that’s going to play out in the primaries, and I think that’s going to continue to hurt them in the general election.”
A CNN poll suggests Easton is right. Only New Jersey Governor Chris Christie comes close to beating Clinton in a general matchup. Christie leads 48-46%,but Clinton would beat Rep. Paul Ryan by 8 points, Sen. Rand Paul by 13, Mike Huckabee by 15, Gov. Rick Perry by 17, Sen. Ted Cruz by 18, Sen.Marco Rubio and former Sen. Rick Santorum by 19, and Jeb Bush by 21 points. Weak opponent? Not yet anyway.