4 brutal poll numbers that greet Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention

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Some audience members booed and chanted Bernie Sanders's name when Hillary Clinton was mentioned during the opening invocation at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia July 25. (The Washington Post)

It's common for presidential candidates to get a bump from their conventions, and two new polls Monday suggest Donald Trump did indeed get that.

But the new polls don't just show Trump's stock rising (however temporarily that may be); they also have some very bad news for Hillary Clinton and her already-declining personal image. Indeed, politically, she's doing as bad as she ever has — if not worse.

A caveat at the outset: The GOP convention was, as was to be expected, very anti-Clinton. There were chants of "lock her up" and plenty of accusations lodged against Clinton. So it's perhaps not surprising to see Clinton's numbers take a hit. But they have been steadily getting worse for months and are now basically worse than ever before.

Below, four key points:

1) 68 percent say Clinton isn't honest and trustworthy

That's according to the CNN poll, and it's her worst number on-record. It's also up from 65 percent earlier this month and 59 percent in May. The 30 percent who see Clinton as honest and trustworthy is now well shy of the number who say the same of Trump: 43 percent.

You heard that right: Trump — he of the many, many Pinocchios — now has a large lead on Clinton when it comes to honesty and trustworthiness.

The CBS poll, for what it's worth, has a similar number saying Clinton is dishonest: 67 percent.

2) Her image has never been worse

CBS showed just 31 percent have favorable views of Clinton and 56 percent have unfavorable ones. Even in Trump's worst days on the campaign trail, he has rarely dipped below a 31 percent favorable rating. Clinton has hit that number a few times, but her negative-25 net favorable rating here is tied for the worst of her campaign,according to Huffington Post Pollster.

In the CNN poll, the 39 percent who say they have a favorable view of Clinton is lower than at any point in CNN's regular polling since April 1992 — when she wasn't even first lady yet. Of course, back then, the reason just 38 percent of people liked her was because many were unfamiliar with her. At the time, 39 percent were unfavorable and 23 percent had no opinion.

Clinton's favorable rating in the CNN poll is currently 16 points net-negative. That's unprecedented in the dozens of CNN polls on her since 1992.

Gallup's new numbers on Monday — 38 percent favorable and 57 percent unfavorable — are also unprecedented over the course of Clinton's political career.

This also appears to be the first time ever that Clinton's image measures worse than Trump's. It does so in both polls.

3) Just 38 percent would be "proud" to have her as president

That's down from 55 percent in March 2015. Sixty percent say they would not be proud.

On this measure, she's basically on the same footing as Trump, whom 39 percent would be proud of and 59 percent wouldn't be.

4) Nearly half of Democratic primary voters still want Bernie Sanders

Clinton dispatched with Sanders and now has his endorsement, but despite 9 in 10 consistent Sanders supporters saying they'll vote Clinton in November, many of them still pine for their first love.

The CNN poll, in fact, shows 45 percent of those who voted in Democratic primaries still say they wish it was Sanders. Just 49 percent say they prefer Clinton — down from 55 percent a month ago.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton greets supporters at her primary night victory party on June 7 in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

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Glenn Beck Admits He Misled Cruz Audiences About George Washington’s ‘Don Quixote’

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AP

by REBECCA MANSOUR25 Feb 20161,790

Glenn Beck has now admitted that he misled audiences at his campaign appearances for 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)

97%

 when he told them the copy of Don Quixote he held in his hand was the same copy that George Washington purchased on the day the Constitution was signed. Beck now admits that the copy he was displaying at Cruz rallies was actuallyprinted in 1796 — 9 years after the Constitution was signed.

The controversy surrounding Beck’s book heated up earlier this week when a spokesperson at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate told the Huffington Post that the copy of Miguel de CervantesDon Quixote that Washington purchased on the day the Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, is “stored safely” in their collection and is not out on the campaign trail with Glenn Beck.

The curators even helpfully tweeted a photograph of the real copy Washington purchased on that historic day in 1787:

In the wake of the controversy, Beck hasfinally acknowledged that he misled audiences about his book:

In a statement to HuffPost, Beck acknowledged the book he’s displayed at rallies is not the copy of Don Quixotethat Washington purchased on that day. However, Beck said he possesses another copy of the book, dated 1796, from Washington’s library.

“The lesson that I take from Washington’s diary where he says ‘Signed the constitution. Bought Don Quixote’ is that we are never done in our service to God and Country,” Beck said. “I have incorrectly stated that my copy is the copy that Washington purchased the day he signed the Constitution. That version is one of the copies owned and housed in Mount Vernon. I take full responsibility for connecting my book (which is dated 1796) to the book Washington purchased that fateful day of September 17th, 1787. But make no mistake the copy in my possession is from the private library of George Washington.”

Experts at Mount Vernon noted that the ownership of the 1796 volume is complicated, and that it’s uncertain whether that later edition, owned by Beck, was in Washington’s library or was purchased by Washington as a gift for his friend Colonel Tobias Lear. The 1796 copy of Don Quixote was later passed down to Lear’s son, Benjamin, who identified it in records as having been received from Washington.

A Mount Vernon spokeswoman said it would need to see Beck’s copy in person to authenticate it.

It’s still unclear how Beck, a self-described Constitutionalist who prides himself on his knowledge of that period, could have thought that a book printed 9 years after the day the Constitution was signed was the copy Washington purchased on that historic date. But Beck clearly made this mistake repeatedly.

Beck repeatedly misled audiences about his copy of Don Quixote while stumping for Ted Cruz in Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada.

At a Cruz rally in Ames, Iowa, on January 30, Beck said that Washington wrote in his diary “two lines on the day of the signing of the Constitution. First line: ‘Signed the Constitution today.’ Second line: ‘I pick up my copy of Don Quixote.’ This is his copy ofDon Quixote that he picked up that day.”

At a rally at the Morningstar Church in Fort Mill, South Carolina, on February 11, Beck again declared, “This is the copy that he went and picked up the day they signed the Constitution.”

At a rally in Henderson, Nevada, on February 21, Beck again said, “This is George Washington’s copy of Don Quixote. This is the copy that he picked up the day they signed the Constitution.”

On his website, Beck posted the transcript of his Blaze TV appearance yesterday where he blasted the Huffington Post’s reporting on the book controversy as “the sloppiest journalism I have ever seen.”

“Now, I don’t think you care at all about rare book dealers,” Beck said. “But you know who does care? Me. And here’s why: Because people are now saying I’m dragging out a fake Washington book all around the country. And now they’re starting to question the Washington compass, which also has documentation.”

Beck added:

And, you know what, let me tell you something. I paid a fortune for these things. And these people who are printing these things are hurting the monetary value of those items. And they’re only trying to do it because it’s the same group of people that try to discredit any kind of history that is coming from a conservative. They have their own political motives for doing it.

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Long time observer David Maraniss: "Bill Clinton 'Frail,' 'No Gleam,' 'No Electricity'"

www.weeklystandard.com

Longtime Bill Clinton observer David Maraniss saw the former president campaigning in New Hampshire and shared his thoughts on Twitter.

2) It was odd, when BC was introduced and stood on stage w/ Chelsea, he showed nothing on his face, mouth agape, eyes seemingly blank..— david maraniss (@davidmaraniss) February 9, 2016

1) For what it's worth, seeing Bill Clinton for the 1st time in quite a while at campaign rally in Manchester NH...— david maraniss (@davidmaraniss) February 9, 2016

Clinton is "frail," the biographer noted: "no affect at all, just frail, like he had to conserve every ounce of energy. No gleam in his eyes, no electricity, muted."

He continued,

He lit up only when Chelsea talked about him. Then when it was his turn to talk a little bit of his old self came back, but not much.Again there was not much electricity, the same hoarse voice and some familiar sentence constructs, some old synthesis......but not as evocative as it was even 3 years ago at the DNC in Charlotte when his words bailed out Obama...Hillary on her new riff IMAGINE had more energy and staying power...but then...

3) no affect at all, just frail, like he had to conserve every ounce of energy. No gleam in his eyes, no electricity, muted...— david maraniss (@davidmaraniss) February 9, 2016

4) He lit up only when Chelsea talked about him. Then when it was his turn to talk a little bit of his old self came back, but not much.— david maraniss (@davidmaraniss) February 9, 2016

5)Again there was not much electricity, the same hoarse voice and some familiar sentence constructs, some old synthesis...— david maraniss (@davidmaraniss) February 9, 2016

6) ...but not as evocative as it was even 3 years ago at the DNC in Charlotte when his words bailed out Obama...— david maraniss (@davidmaraniss)February 9, 2016

7) Hillary on her new riff IMAGINE had more energy and staying power...but then...— david maraniss (@davidmaraniss) February 9, 2016

8)...at the end when they worked the ropeline he was in his element and almost restored as though he had been given an IV...— david maraniss (@davidmaraniss) February 9, 2016

9) The Big Dog was barking again, however briefly.— david maraniss (@davidmaraniss) February 9, 2016

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