Ed Rendell: Clinton Needs To Avoid Appearing Smug Or Over-Confident At Debate
Philadelphia (CBS) - Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell previewed tonight's third and final presidential debate, warning former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not take the lead in the polls for granted and warning of a possible hidden vote for Donald Trump when election day arrives on November 8.
Rendell, during an interview with Rich Zeoli on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, said Clinton could do real damage to her chances tonight by appearing arrogant or complacent.
"It's also important for important for Hillary Clinton to be presidential, to hang in there, even if he does get personal, but not to be smug or over-confident because elections can turn. I don't think the lead is big enough that there's any reason for us to be over-confident. She should not portray any idea that she thinks this is in the bag and that she doesn't really have to contend."
He raised the notion that recent polls may not be fully calculating the levels of support Donald Trump really has in certain communities.
"Is there a hidden Trump vote? We all know that Frank Rizzo had a hidden vote. Frank Rizzo always polled three to four points better than what the polls showed because there were people who didn't want to tell a stranger that they were voting for Frank Rizzo. I think some of that may exist for Donald. It's not that the polls were inaccurate. It's just that some people may not have been telling the truth to the pollsters. How big of a hidden vote that is, I don't know."
However, he did state that supporters for Clinton now seem more eager to get to the polls, which represents a significant change from earlier in the year.
"The enthusiasm gap has turned around, now Hillary Clinton's voters are more enthusiastic about voting than Donald Trump's and they're more likely to vote than Donald Trump's voters. Not by a wide margin, but by about eight or nine points, but Donald was leading in that area by 15 or 20 points, so who knows what the enthusiasm quotient will be."
