FAINT PRAISE FROM POLITICO AS HILLARY CLINTON'S POLL NUMBERS SOAR.

by Frank Marafiote
12/16/2009

Hillary Clinton Time Magazine Cover

With an approval rating some 24% higher than Barack Obama's, you'd think that Hillary Clinton would get some credit for the great job she has done as U.S. Secretary of State.

Not gonna happen. At least not from Politico.

To read Politico's report on the new poll, you'd think the only reason that a high percentage of voters approve of her is that she's been hiding away in Chappaqua, New York. The reason Hillary is more popular than the president, says Politico, is that the president has been in the limelight tackling the tough issues while Hillary has been sequestered from the public eye.

Somehow that ignores that fact that the Secretary has traveled some 200,000 miles on behalf of the Administration. With one or two minor exceptions, observers agree that her performance abroad has been exceptional. Indeed, during the past year Americans have come to appreciate her unflappable work ethic and the realpolitik that informs her behavior on the world stage.

It's also the case that Obama, try as he might, has had few victories either at home or abroad. That certainly will change, but for now the low approval rating correlates with his poor performance as president (the B+ grade he gave himself on the Oprah Winfrey special must have been based on a very generous curve).

According to the poll of self-avowed news hounds, Hillary's favorability rating is at 75%, compared to 51% for her boss. Given her more balanced perspective on world events, a high percentage of Republicans -- some 57% -- also expressed approval of Hillary. The percentage of independents showing support was 65%.

The poll of 800 self-identified "news watchers" was conducted by the nonpartisan Clarus Research Group from December 7th to the 12th. An earlier poll conducted in October also showed Hillary with a higher approval rating than Obama's.