Iowa Polls and G.O.P. Attacks Encourage Supporters of Hillary Clinton
Two polls in Iowa and a barrage of Republican attacks have put a spring in the step of supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Mrs. Clinton has rebounded mightily in polls of Iowa Democrats over the last two weeks, building her most commanding lead there since June over her main rival for the partys presidential nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. She was ahead of Mr. Sanders by 41 percentage points among likely caucus voters in a Monmouth University poll and by 38 points in a Loras College survey, both released on Tuesday.
And in Wednesday nights Republican debate, the contenders aimed as much fire at Mrs. Clinton as at one another accusing her of being a pessimist (Gov. Chris Christie) and a hypocrite (Carly Fiorina), of wanting to raise Social Security taxes (Mike Huckabee), and of running for President Obamas third term (Jeb Bush).
But several Democrats cited the Iowa poll numbers on Thursday as they assessed the repeated Republican attacks on Mrs. Clinton the night before. The Democrats argued that Mrs. Clinton, after months of troubles, is now gaining strength after her own strong performance in the Oct. 13 debate and the decision by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. not to enter the partys nomination contest.
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/10/29/iowa-polls-and-g-o-p-attacks-encourage-supporters-of-hillary-clinton/