With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff |
For the story behind the story... |
Friday, Aug. 2, 2002 7:40 p.m. EDT
TV Viewers Turn Thumbs Down on 'President Hillary'
By a margin a nearly 9 to 1, residents of the New York metropolitan area don't want to see New York Sen. Hillary Clinton run for president - ever.
At least that's what viewers told a local TV station after they were asked to register their opinion online.
Unlike many online polls, which usually tilt conservative, New York City's WPIX tried to reach out to a broader TV audience. Another factor that should have helped Hillary: Residents in the area reached by the station's broadcast signal voted for her overwhelmingly in the 2000 Senate race.
"We call it Tell Us @ Ten," the station explains on its website. "Each day at our news meeting, the News @ Ten staff will decide on a hot-button issue for the day and formulate a question around it, the question will then be put up on WB11.COM, our website. Then, as the night goes on, viewers will be driven to our website to cast their votes, and then tune in at 10:00 PM to see exactly how New Yorkers felt."
Earlier this week, WPIX asked viewers, "Would you like to see Sen. Hillary Clinton run for President?"
Mrs. Clinton lost by a landslide, with a whopping 87.4 percent (955 respondents) saying they didn't want to see the rising Democratic Party star back in the White House.
Since the 'President Hillary' question didn't mention what year she might run, the responses presumably cover both 2004 and 2008.
Hillary's coming White House bid was backed by just 138 WPIX viewers, a slender 12.6 percent.
She is girding her sexless loins for Bloodfest, 2004.