AND NOW FOR THE NEGATIVES – AT 11:37 A.M. ET:  Elections are won (and lost) as much by the dislike that voters have for candidates as for the like.  Gallup is out with a poll of all Americans on the "yuch" factor.  From The Hill: 

Republican front-runner Donald Trump has the highest unfavorable ratings of any presidential candidate in either party in the 2016 field, a Gallup poll released Saturday found.

Sixty percent of those surveyed gave the business mogul unfavorable ratings, while a third said they viewed him favorably, for a net favorability rating of -27.

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Jeb Bush are tied for second-lowest net favorability ratings with -10 each.

Among other Republican candidates, Bush's 45 percent unfavorable rating is the next-worst after Trump.

Following him are Chris Christie at 38 percent, Ted Cruz at 37 percent, Marco Rubio at 33 percent and Ben Carson at 30 percent.

Clinton's unfavorable rating is 52 percent. Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders' is 31 percent.

The numbers pose a striking contrast to the fact that Trump dominates the Republican field in polls nationally and in most early-voting states.

COMMENT:  I'd look at those unfavorables very carefully.  Trump is leading the GOP race only because his opposition is divided among a phone book full of candidates.  He is unloved by the electorate at large.

Hillary's 52% yuch rating comes after 25 years on the national stage.  If she wins she wins by default, against a weak Republican candidate.  But that 52% indicates the enormous advantage the GOP has if it nominates someone the public can actually like.

January 31, 2016