New Rasmussen Poll McCain 45% Clinton 38%, Giuliani 42%, Clinton 40%

Why are these the only two candidates that out poll Hillary? Would love to see George Allen with a 5-7 point lead in a Poll like this.

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 27, 2005--Given a choice between Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton, 45% of Americans today say they'd vote for McCain. Thirty-eight percent (38%) for Clinton.

If the Republican in the race was Rudy Giuliani, it's a toss-up--42% for Giuliani and 40% for Clinton.

Both Republicans in the poll are viewed favorably by 48% of Americans. Giuliani is viewed unfavorably by 25%, McCain by 24%.

Senator Clinton is viewed favorably by 41% and unfavorably by 42%. Rasmussen Reports published a Hillary Meter every other week to track the former First Lady's effort to move towards the political center.

Giuliani does a bit better than McCain among Republican voters while McCain makes slightly bigger inroads among Democrats.

Among those not affiliated with either major party, McCain leads Clinton 38% to 29%. Clinton leads Giuliani 36% to 30% among unaffiliateds.

In his quest for the 2000 Presidential nomination, McCain was far more successful in open primaries that allowed Democrats and unaffiliateds to participate. He was notably unsuccessful in Republican only primaries.

Sixty-four percent (64%) of conservatives have a favorable opinion of Giuliani. Just 51% have a favorable opinion of McCain.

Self-identified liberals are evenly divided in their opinion of Giuliani (35% favorable, 37% unfavorable). However, liberals have a far more positive view of McCain (45% favorable, 26% unfavorable).

Despite the more positive opinion of McCain, liberal voters would vote for Clinton over McCain by a 71% to 16% margin.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

Our publications provide real-time information on consumer confidence, investor confidence, employment data, the political situation, and other topics of value and interest.

During Election 2004, RasmussenReports.com was the top-ranked public opinion research site on the web. We had twice as many visitors as our nearest competitor and nearly as many as all competitors combined.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade

But she doesn't have a chance. Nominating her would be the dumbest thing the Dems have done in years. If she runs, the Repubs win for sure.

Of course she has a chance. Denial just ain't a river in Egypt. If you take a look state by state, you can come to no other conclusion except that it will be a close race and any legitimate Dem candidate will be formidable.

The Repubs, at this point, lack a candidate with the same national name recognition as Hillary. McVain and Giuliani come close, but they will have a hard time attracting the conservative vote and even getting nominated. Hillary is a celebrity who will have no trouble raising money and putting together a top notch political organization. She may be a polarizing figure, but she will get the Dem base energized more than any other Dem. Old Bill will be back on the hustings in earnest.

The stakes are really high for the Dems in 2008. Their viability as a national political party is in serious jeopardy. They will pull out all the stops to win. Any GOP candidate is going to have a hard time winning. After 8 years of the Reps in the WH, the public will be ready for a change. The war in Iraq, the economy, and other factors will also play a role.

If she runs, you are going to have Republican party unity like you haven't seen since Reagan. So you should consider yourself quite lucky if she does run and gets the nomination.

It won't be a matter of Rep unity so much as who can get out the vote in key states. The Dem base will out in droves and so will the big city political machines and voter fraud. Kerry was able to increase the Dem vote in 2004 by 8 million votes (59 million) from the 51 million votes Gore received. The big difference was GWB increased his vote total by 11.5 million votes. I doubt that any GOP candidate will be able to turn those kinds of numbers out next time even with Hillary running.

"Is John McCain a Republican????"

Nobody knows for sure. John Kerry seems to have a lot in common with him and almost got him as his running mate in the last election.

He called the Swift Boat vets "Dishonorable and Dishonest". This coming from a guy who received special treatment from his North Vietnamese friends while in captivity. He's also a gun-grabbing schmuck like his buddy Chuckie Schumer.

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