Democrats have a quandary. They have at least two nominees that, if an election were held right now, would whip just about anyone the Republicans picked.
A new poll says Americans would vote for both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barrack Obama ahead of any Republican challenger, including the most recent entrance into the Republican race, Fred Thompson.
The Hart/Newhouse poll done for the Wall Street Journal and NBC shows that, if a presidential election were held right now and it was Clinton vs. Giuliani, Clinton would score 49 per cent of the votes, compared to 42 per cent for Rudy. She'd beat Thompson 50 to 41; and would whip Romney 51 to 38.
Obama would score 47 per cent of the vote if he was the Democrat nominee fighting Republican nominee Thompson, who would score 38 per cent. Obama does even better against Romney than Hillary — 51 to 34. The pollster did not ask about a Barrack/Giuliani matchup.
When asked, “What is your preference for the outcome of the 2008 presidential election––that a Democrat be elected president or that a Republican be elected president?”, 49 per cent said they preferred a Democrat win; 36 per cent want the Republicans back.
George W. Bush, incidentally, continues to be viewed mighty unfavourably by his citizens. When asked, “Do you approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is doing as president?”, 66 per cent — two in three — told the pollster they disapprove and just 29 per cent — less than one in three — said they approve.
For this poll, 1,002 adults were interviewed between Sept. 7 and 10. The pollster says the survey is accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.