The MSNBC forum for Democrat candidates on Friday night drew about 2.3 million viewers. For the two hours, the forum did not even have more viewers than Fox News. In other words, it didn't make it to the highest rated cable news show of the evening. Let's put that into context. The first two Republican debates each drew between 23 and 25 million people. That's ten times the audience that saw this MSNBC forum. The third GOP debate was up against the second game of the World Series and still drew 15 million people (almost seven times the MSNBC forum.) Even the first Democrat debate had an audience that was more than six times the MSNBC forum.
So what do these numbers mean? For one thing, the audience sizes show that people are much more interested in seeing the GOP candidates than the Democrats. Is that because Hillary Clinton has things wrapped up, or is it because people don't want to spend time listening to her? Is it because Republicans like Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina are such good speakers, or is it because viewers want to see candidates clash? No one knows the answer to these questions. Two things, however, are certain. First, at the moment, there is much more enthusiasm for the Republicans in the race than for the Democrats. There can be many different reasons for the relative sizes of the audiences, but one of them is clearly enthusiasm. Second, Hillary Clinton does not generate much in the way of emotional support. The woman was on TV for a lengthy interview and hardly anyone tuned in.
Both of these facts are bad indicators for the Democrats and Clinton. They can easily change before the election next year. Nevertheless, these audiences show that Hillary is going to have to try somehow to generate actual enthusiasm among the voters over the next year. Given who she is, it is hard to imagine her ever succeeding in such and endeavor.
So what do these numbers mean? For one thing, the audience sizes show that people are much more interested in seeing the GOP candidates than the Democrats. Is that because Hillary Clinton has things wrapped up, or is it because people don't want to spend time listening to her? Is it because Republicans like Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina are such good speakers, or is it because viewers want to see candidates clash? No one knows the answer to these questions. Two things, however, are certain. First, at the moment, there is much more enthusiasm for the Republicans in the race than for the Democrats. There can be many different reasons for the relative sizes of the audiences, but one of them is clearly enthusiasm. Second, Hillary Clinton does not generate much in the way of emotional support. The woman was on TV for a lengthy interview and hardly anyone tuned in.
Both of these facts are bad indicators for the Democrats and Clinton. They can easily change before the election next year. Nevertheless, these audiences show that Hillary is going to have to try somehow to generate actual enthusiasm among the voters over the next year. Given who she is, it is hard to imagine her ever succeeding in such and endeavor.
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