Getting the good news from FBI Director James Comey today that his senior investigators have found nothing new in recently found emails from former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-N.Y.) laptop computer, Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gets a welcomed boost before Election Day. Leading GOP nominee real estate mogul Donald Trump by 1.8% aggregate, Hillary looks to pad her lead heading into Nov. 8. Comey’s Oct. 28 surprise announcement that he was reopening an investigation into Hillary emails met with strong condemnation by the Hillary campaign, calling, in some circles, for Comey’s resignation. Today’s announcement was met with joy my Hillary’s Communication Director Jennifer Palmeri. Comey said he found nothing new that would change his mind about charging Hillary with a crime.
Comey’s standard July 3, refusing to indict Hillary, involved failing to establish “intent” to receive-or-transmit classified material over her private email server. “The FBI team has been working around the clock to process and review a large volume of emails from a device obtained in connection with an unrelated criminal investigation,” said Comey, throwing cold water on Trump’s hope that Hillary’s email problems could put him over the top on Nov. 8. Taking inventory now, it looks like Hillary can pull off her expected win, becoming the first woman to become president of the United States. While it looks now like Trump won’t get there, there’s an outside possibility, though unlikely, that aggregate polling doesn’t accurately measure voters’ preferences in the Nov. 8 election. Even with Comey’s announcement, it’s possible Trump’s voters confound pollsters.
With Comey’s announcement today clearing Hillary of emails found on Weiner’s computer, it’s still possible Trump could pull off the upset but only if Trump’s backers have confounded pollsters. Brexit “leave” advocate Nigel Farage sees a parallel with the June 23 vote where polls showed the “stay” voters led the polls by some 7% the night before the vote. When the voters were counted, the “leave” voters won by 5%, confounding pollsters. Hillary’s campaign has taken nothing for granted, going Democratic leaning states like Michigan and Wisconsin before Election Day. Political experts couldn’t account for why the Brexit’s “leave” voters defied pollsters. Farage believes randomly selected poll respondents couldn’t bring themselves to admit to pollsters they were voting to leave the European Union. Farage thinks the same thing’s happening with Trump.
Trump had the momentum heading into the weekend before Election Day until Comey made his latest announcement. Whether or not voters can process his change of heart before Nov. 8 is anyone’s guess. However the polls tighten, voters are more polarized than ever before Election Day. If Hillary win on Tuesday, the country will be more polarized than ever, regardless of Comey’s recent announcement. Hillary’s vast plans of imposing a progressive agenda with Congress will be met with fierce opposition in the House, whether or not the Senate flips to Democrats. Even with a slim majority, Democrats will not be able to bully Republicans into Hillary’s legislative agenda on domestic or foreign policy. Breaking a glass ceiling, Hillary will find the GOP’s “iron curtain” dropping down on her progressive agenda, especially when it comes in increasing domestic spending.
When it comes to building a consensus in Congress, Hillary will find her best luck with her hawkish GOP colleagues, like Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, seeking, looking to confront Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his chief defenders Russia and Iran. Hillary agrees with McCain’s call to set up a no-fly-zone in Syria to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei both backing al-Asasd’s regime. When it comes to domestic policy or her expected Supreme Court appointments, Hillary will get fought tooth-and-nail in Congress, whether she gets a Democratic Senate or not. Hillary galvanizes the GOP like no other Democratic candidate, believing she’s a corrupt or criminal politician, not worthy of the Oval Office, certainly not as commander-in-chief of the U.S. military.
Today’s FBI decision to clear Hillary before Nov. 8 gives her the edge heading into Nov. 8. However the polls tightened Oct. 28, they look to loosen up just enough to win her the needed 270 electoral voters. Trump’s last hope involves left-leaning polls that don’t account for actual voter sentiment before Election Day. If a heavy voter turnout of white voters, whether Democrats, independents or Republicans prevails, Trump still has a shot of pulling off one of the biggest upsets in presidential history. If polls remain true to form, Trump will lose by a wide margin in the Electoral College. Spending the last few days holding rock concerts with popular celebrities like Beyonce, Jay Z, Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, not mention sports celebrities like LeBron James, Hillary aims to close the deal. Trump hopes for a miracle to salvage what’s left of his 2016 campaign.
