Fifty-three percent of voters now see former President Bill Clinton as a “sexual predator,” according to a Rasmussen poll. By John Nolte.

Rasmussen asked 1,000 likely voters, “Which comes closer to your views – that former President Clinton was a sexual predator or that he was the victim of his political opponents?”

Only 24 percent believe Clinton is a victim, while 24 percent remain undecided. …

To anyone who remembers the late 1990s, this is a massive turnaround in public opinion. …

Clinton had been widely seen as one of the most popular presidents in modern history, especially by a public who had largely written off his personal indiscretions as nobody’s business and who believed he was, indeed, a victim of his overreaching political opponents. …

Why the turnaround? Loss of air cover from the media:

As everyone knows, the establishment media spent some 25 years (1992 – 2016) not only shielding Clinton from credible allegations of misconduct (and worse), but aiding and abetting the smear campaigns Bill (and Hillary) launched against any accuser who dared come forward.

But now that the establishment media see the Clintons as irrelevant, he is now expendable. And to try and legitimatize their attacks on Trump, the media understand they can no longer protect Bill, something they were zealously doing as recently as the last campaign cycle.

Basically, the media see more political upside for the political left in cutting Bill loose.

And so, now that he is on his own, now that the media are finally asking tough questions (while still pulling their punches), Clinton’s past has come into stark relief, which means voters are more inclined to see a sexual predator than a victim.

UPDATE: Bill Clinton: Norms of ‘What You Can Do to Someone Against Their Will’ Have Changed. By NTK.

President Bill Clinton’s new interview with PBS NewsHour, which aired last week, featured some shocking, and strikingly tone-deaf, comments from the former president about sexual harassment and assault, including his opinion that “what you can do to someone against their will” has changed. …

That he would think Franken’s actions, or his own, are defensible is another sign the former Democratic president is shockingly unapologetic about the people he harmed earlier in his career.

hat-tip Scott of the Pacific