U.S. Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton (R) and U.S. President Barack Obama are pictured on the third day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States, July 27, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
By Matthew Rusling
WASHINGTON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has been dogged by controversy in recent weeks, but this week' s Democratic National Convention may give her the bounce she needs to come back.
In recent days, leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee showed that the organization tried to tip the scales in favor of Clinton to win against her opponents -- mainly rival Bernie Sanders, during the primaries.
The scandal has grabbed headlines nationwide and sparked angry protests by Sanders' supporters outside the convention's venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and comes as Clinton is running neck-in-neck with her Republican rival Donald Trump.
But despite all that, Clinton is still expected to see a boost in the polls.
"Clinton will get a bump out of the Democratic convention," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.
"It is a week of mostly positive coverage for her," West said. "Speakers are extolling her virtues and contrasting her favorably with Donald Trump."
Clinton's predicted bounce in the polls is expected to help her overcome the uptick in the polls Trump saw after last week' s Republican convention, which put him ahead in the polls by a hair.
"This will counter the boost Trump got last week from the Republican convention," West said.
He said women, independents and young people are seeing positive portraits of Clinton' s life and this will help humanize her beyond the stereotype that has been built up on her by the Republican Party (GOP).
Indeed, Hillary's husband Bill Clinton, one of the country' s most popular presidents, spoke on her behalf on Tuesday night at the Democratic convention, which experts said will help Hillary in the race for the White House.
In a bid to humanize Hillary, Bill spoke at length about how the two met 40 years ago, both being students at Yale law school. Cracking jokes from time to time in a self-deprecating style he' s known for, Clinton told the enthusiastic crowd how he pursued and eventually married Hillary.
Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that certainly any candidate can benefit from a convention bump, and Hillary is no different.
"Her unfavorable numbers would be a concern if there were a major gap between her and the Republican candidate, but with Trump as the GOP nominee, he also carries an equally bad unfavorable rating-so that is almost a wash," Mahaffee said.
"I think it is too soon to say how much of a bump she will exactly get, but if the appearance of popular Democrats like Bill Clinton, (Vice President) Joe Biden, and (U.S. President) Barack Obama overshadows much of her early controversy, that momentum could provide a decent bounce," he said.
While Clinton has been embroiled in scandal in recent months, many Americans have simply shrugged their shoulders and moved on, Mahaffee added.
