"It Takes an Agenda: Conservatives cannot live by Hillary-hate alone" by David Weigel

http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_10_22/cover.html

"October 22, 2007 Issue
Copyright © 2007 The American Conservative



"It Takes an Agenda: Conservatives cannot live by Hillary-hate alone" by David Weigel

It’s a balmy, beer-drinking evening in the middle of August, and the conservatives trickling in to a meeting of the Robert A. Taft Club can’t enjoy it. They’re mostly under-30 Washington professionals, and they’re fed up with the Republican Party. They think George W. Bush’s bumbling and ideological hat-trading have reduced the conservative movement to a pitiable, piddling state. If Karl Rove stepped inside, he’d come out looking like Oscar de la Hoya after a bout gone wrong.

They settle into a debate about the future of the conservative movement and the Republican Party. Panelists take turns whipping the party for its sins. “We beat them on immigration,” says Richard Viguerie, the direct-mail pioneer, “but right now, we just don’t have the strength or the resources to affect public policy the way we want to.” He beseeches the crowd to help save the movement, but that gets a muted reaction. So he steps it up: “I still think that in the short term, as many problems as we have right now, Hillary Clinton can bring conservatives back together.”

The name does the trick: soft laughter moves around the room. Keeping Hillary out of the White House is literally the only motivation some conservatives have to pull the Republican lever in 2008, especially if their party nominates a pro-choice candidate for the first time since 1976. “Just enough people might go to the polls next November nursing one conviction that trumps all others,” Terence Jeffrey wrote a few weeks after the panel (which he also appeared on). “There’s no way they would vote for Hillary Clinton.” Fred Barnes, the Weekly Standard executive editor and a sturdy weathervane for Republican popular opinion, expressed the same thing in a late-September column: “Nearly all Republicans, plus a lot of independents, rally around the need to defeat Senator Hillary Clinton and keep her away from the presidency. So it follows, not entirely logically, that they wish for her to win the Democratic nomination.”

Is this wishful thinking from a party and a movement on the ropes? Not according to pollsters. There are voters who have given up on the GOP over the last few years and utterly loathe the Clintons in general or Hillary in particular. Americans are aching to vote Democratic, and polls that test a generic Republican candidate against a generic Democrat give Clinton’s party a double-digit lead. But their enthusiasm flags when they ponder the flesh-and-blood Democratic frontrunner. Pollster Scott Rasmussen points out that at least 45 percent of Americans don’t like Clinton personally. She simply rubs them the wrong way—in every way. Despite that generic lead, she only ties or narrowly outpaces Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and John McCain.

“Of the top three Democratic candidates, she’s absolutely the weakest in the general election,” Rasmussen says. “Hillary is a unifying factor for Republicans, and Republicans aren’t otherwise unified. If Hillary is the nominee, this is a competitive race.”

But see if you can spot the problem. Conservatives are fraught, angry at their traditional party, unable to decide on a standard-bearer, unsure even what they stand for. They don’t think this is the year to sort those problems out. They’re counting on a short-cut when the Democrats nominate an unelectable cold fish who has infuriated the Right for a decade and a half. Millions remember how they felt when she belittled other wives for “staying home and baking cookies,” and Bill Clinton promised voters “two for the price of one” if they sent his family to the White House.

On the Right, the list of grievances was even longer. Both Clintons were seen as ambassadors of 1960s radicalism and cultural decadence, and Hillary was the worse of the two: a pro-choice feminist who didn’t take her husband’s name until pollsters told her it would help him make a political comeback.

Yet for all of that outrage, Republicans lost that election to the Clintons. And the hope that voters will see what they see and reject what the Clintons stand for resembles the plan Democrats clung to in 2004. They choose John Kerry on the theory he would be the least controversial general-election candidate, then counted on an electorate fed up with George W. Bush to deliver the election.

In the nearly three years since, Hillary has been the de facto Democratic candidate. The Right’s efforts to attack her have fallen completely, pathetically flat. Her popularity is low, but not much lower than Bush’s was in 2004. If the linchpin of a 2008 campaign is unifying Republicans in the cause of defeating Hillary, it might be enough to stitch together most of the conservative movement—but not enough to win.

Compare the efforts of 2007 to the efforts of 1999 and 2000. After First Lady Hillary Clinton started seeking a Senate seat, Republican donors practically sprained their wrists signing checks. Rudy Giuliani, a social liberal whom Republicans weren’t as comfortable with then as now, raised more than $20 million. When Giuliani left the race, Rep. Rick Lazio raised $4.5 million in six weeks.

That wasn’t the limit of the Hillary effect. The National Republican Senatorial Committee saw its donations surge when it asked supporters to banish the Clintons from Washington once and for all. By the middle of 2000, the committee raised $20 million, twice as much as it had raised in 1998 and triple what it raised in 1996. “She’s now the Republican Party’s No. 1 fundraiser,” said a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee to a reporter from The Hill.

It was a simpler time. This past July, the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent out a “quiz” to donors that warned, “Hillary Clinton is calling Senate Democrats to push a passage of measures to institute government-run healthcare.” Imagine, a President Hillary Clinton with a massive Senate majority to do her bidding! But appeals like that have done nothing for the NRSC: their Democratic counterparts have out-raised them by $34.1 to $18.1 million. The month of the quiz letter, the Democrats beat them by $2.7 to $2.2 million.

It’s the same story in the presidential race. Since the start of the year, the nine remaining Republican candidates have raised about $104 million. The Democrats, including Clinton, have raised $144.3 million. When John McCain campaign manager Rick Davis sent out an 11th-hour fundraising e-mail, he played what he thought was his strongest card: “There are many reasons to support John McCain, but as we approach this quarter’s fundraising deadline Saturday at midnight, let me remind you of just one of them: John McCain is the only candidate who can defeat Hillary Clinton.” That was the prelude to a weak finance report and a staff purge that completed McCain’s descent to hobbled dark horse.

And those efforts have been absolute triumphs compared to the third-party anti-Hillary efforts and PACs. The first sign that conservative donors were growing less animated about the Clintons was the launch of Stop Her Now in February 2005. Republican strategist Arthur Finkelstein planned on raising $10 million for a campaign along the lines of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the 2004 group that raised $27 million to attack John Kerry’s Vietnam service and his homeland antiwar activism.

Finkelstein failed. The group recorded a radio ad that was never broadcast and from its founding through June 2005, reported only one $500 donation. Over the next year, Clinton glided to her Senate re-election as the group raised only $25,000, and she out-raised her opponent by nearly ten to one.

Stop Her Now actually survived that election after Texas philanthropist Richard Collins (a Swift Boat donor) bought it and hired a new crop of media consultants. Now the group offers a news feed that collates Hillary headlines and a series of cartoons that mock the senator as a humorless, power-mad talk-show host. Collins wants to raise about $8 million before the end of the race—a much more modest goal than Finkelstein’s $10 million for a race in New York—but there will be no mention of family problems or sex scandals. “We want to define the radical ideas of Hillary Clinton,” he says, “but not in a mean-spirited way.”

What changed between 2000 and 2007? Why isn’t the mention of Hillary Clinton’s name the motivating factor it used to be for conservatives? Some activists argue that the GOP and the movement are distracted. In Rudy Giuliani, there’s a Republican frontrunner who defies decades of party stances on social issues and personal mores. Conservative donors are too busy sorting out the party’s future to cohere and battle Hillary.

“Back in 2000 we had a plan,” says Viguerie. “It was a simple plan: beat Hillary. Keep Hillary out of the Senate. And at first we had Rudy Giuliani as the focus of that, but after he dropped out, you could help out Rick Lazio. We’ll get a presidential candidate, and then we’ll get focused.”

That might be one reason the Right can’t rally against Hillary. Conservative division has led to depression, a sense that a Clinton restoration is inevitable, and that the best plan going ahead is to wait for her election and watch as, like her husband, she stumbles and seeds a GOP comeback. A mid-July CBS News poll revealed that 53 percent of Republicans thought it was very or somewhat likely that Clinton would win the presidency. Few Republicans think the party can win back Congress in 2008. Combine that with the anger that between one-third and one-quarter of the GOP base feels toward George W. Bush, and the relentless negativity starts to make sense.

“There’s a big difference between 2000 and 2007,” says John LeBoutillier, a former Republican congressman from New York and the head of Stop Hillary PAC. “In 2000, everyone on the Right hated Clinton and Gore, and we rallied to the guy we didn’t know: Bush. It’s different now. We hate Bush, and we hate the Bushes. We hate watching the Clintons palling around with the Bushes on goodwill tours and the like.”

There is another reason conservatives can’t count on Hillary: she offends and irritates them so deeply that they have trouble actually strategizing against her. They launch attacks, but compared to the carefully plotted Swift Boat strike on John Kerry or the years-long effort to spotlight Al Gore’s strange bragging and fibbing, the anti-Hillary attacks are erratic, grabbing early media attention and then fading out of the picture. Conservatives fixate on long-dormant scandals, like Bill Clinton’s treatment of Kathleen Willey and Juanita Broaddrick, without appreciating that reporters no longer want to chase those stories and that their very mention stokes sympathy for Clinton’s wife.

But it’s all some anti-Hillary agitators know how to do. In July, Sean Hannity told professional Hillary slayer Dick Morris the question he wanted some intrepid hack to ask the candidate: “Do you believe the women that claim that your husband serially abused them? Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, Paula Jones. Is that a legitimate and fair question?” Morris repeatedly shook his head and tried to explain where Hannity was going wrong: “Whenever anybody hits Hillary on her personal life, her marriage, or whether she is a lesbian or not, it plays into her hands.”

Morris is right. Clinton has never been as popular as she was in 1998 and 1999, during the height of her husband’s sex scandals, when voters grew to see her as a courageous wronged woman. (New York Democrats recruited Clinton to run for their open Senate seat hoping to cash in on that popularity. She didn’t, as it’s sometimes remembered, “parachute” into the race.) She’s not completely immune from Republican attacks on her character, but she can deflect an awful lot of the damage. Most attacks on Hillary’s past, her ethics, or her scandals either backfire or fall off the radar.

Why is the media so disinterested? Simple: Hillary-phobia doesn’t sell like it used to. Four books about Clinton have been released from major publishers in 2007, with varying levels of fanfare. According to Nielsen Bookscan, Carl Bernstein’s A Woman in Charge has been a sizable hit, selling 52,000 copies on the strength of the author’s fame and interviews with Clinton’s late childhood friend Betsy Ebeling. (It benefited from anticipation, too: its original release date was in 2003.) But Her Way, a much-hyped effort by investigative reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr. released the same week as Bernstein’s book, has sold only 18,000 copies. Bay Buchanan’s The Extreme Makeover of Hillary (Rodham) Clinton sold half as many. Amanda Carpenter’s The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy’s Dossier on Hillary Clinton, helped along by a push and some free distribution at the Conservative Political Action Conference, sold 1,000 fewer copies than Buchanan’s book. A little perspective: no one expected Sen. Joe Biden’s autobiography to be a hit, and no one’s much interested in poring through it for dirt, but it has moved 10,000 copies anyway.

There’s still a market for anti-Hillary books, and if you’re a publisher they’re a better bet than Ten Reasons You Can’t Trust Chris Dodd or Mike Gravel: Unfit for Command. But the Hillary books are, in the end, bad for conservatives. Just as she did in her Senate race, Hillary has raised millions of dollars with pearl-clutching direct mail and e-mail pleas to help her defend herself from the vast conspiracy that wants to destroy her. The Politico’s Ben Smith has dubbed the anti-Hillary groups a “small bunch of failed business schemes that pile up debt while Hillary herself raises money off their attacks.”

So she eggs along her opponents in an ongoing, losing effort. Nothing that conservatives can do to Hillary Clinton can fix the fractures in the movement or re-commit the voters who have abandoned them during the Bush era. Attacking Hillary is a short-term fix, a flawed strategy that Democrats tried only three years ago as they nominated a ticket with a muddled Iraq War position and tried to make up the difference with $300-million worth of third-party attacks. They never dealt with their internal crises, hoping that a campaign against Bush would be enough to win.

“I’d prefer these things be contests of ideas,” says Craig Shirley, a longtime political strategist who’s doing some work for Stop Her Now. “Our conservative, libertarian ideas are better than their collectivist ideas. But running on ideas, you know, that requires the people on our side to have the courage and intellect to understand what this is all about.”

That would require a little bit of cool-headedness and distance, and the Republican Party doesn’t have much of either at the moment. When I pressed John LeBoutillier on what the conservative movement needed to do, he fretted about the damage of the last seven years. “The Bush experience has really turned them off,” he said. “We’re so thrown that we don’t have our heads on straight.” But when I asked if his energy would be put to better use reforming the Republican Party, he hedged. Clinton had to be defeated first.

Obviously, 2008 is not going to lack for anti-Hillary campaigns. There will be more books, more speculation about scandals, more digging into financial records—a treasure hunt for some silver bullet that will finally end her career. This is exactly what the Clinton campaign is ready for, and they’re in luck: the swing vote that will elect the next president is far angrier at Republicans and George W. Bush than it is at her right now. It’s moved on. It wants to hear some new arguments.

The question for conservatives is whether they want to spend the next year making those arguments or whether they want to spend it spinning Hillary Clinton.

__________________________________________

David Weigel is an associate editor of Reason."

'Candidate Hillary: the GOP's dream' by Jonah Goldberg

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goldberg23oct23,0,3831108.column?coll=la-opinion-center


"'Candidate Hillary: the GOP's dream' by Jonah Goldberg
A campaign against Sen. Clinton may give Republicans the best shot at running as the party of change.
October 23, 2007


The most interesting thing to come out of the umpteenth Republican debate Sunday is confirmation that the GOP is dying to run against Hillary Clinton. Like Don Rickles flaying a heckler, each candidate whacked at Clinton as if she were a pants-suited piñata. When they were done with their one-liners, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee deadpanned: "Look, I like to be funny. There's nothing funny about Hillary Clinton being president."

No, but there's something deeply advantageous about having her as an opponent. So far, the commentary about the Republican offensive against Hillary has focused mostly on how it reflects poorly on the GOP (those Clinton-hating wing nuts are at it again!). What's not been fully grasped is how Hillary gives the GOP its best chance at being the party of change.

Newt Gingrich, for one, has been pointing this out for months, using the electoral triumph of Nicolas Sarkozy in France last spring as an example. A Cabinet minister for the unpopular Jacques Chirac, who'd served in office for a biblically long term of 12 years, Sarkozy ran against his own incumbent party's complaisance as well as his Socialist opponent, Segolene Royal, arguing that she merely represented a return to a failed past and "more of the same."

America -- obviously -- isn't France, but Democrats may be misreading America nonetheless. It seems incandescently clear that voters want a change, and, up to now, change meant little more than Democratic victory and no more President Bush. But Democrats got a significant victory in 2006, when they took control of both houses of Congress. And now Congress is even less popular than Bush. In other words, the clamor for change in Washington is much bigger than Bush.

Besides, Bush is leaving no matter what. And unlike every other election since the 1920s, there's no White House-approved candidate in the race. Any Republican will start with 40% to 45% of the vote in his pocket once he gets the nomination. The question that remains is whether the critical 5% to 10% of swing voters will think Hillary Clinton represents the sort of change they want.

What most independents and swing voters want is an end to the acrimony and bitterness in Washington -- and a candidate they like. Whether that's right or not is irrelevant. That's what they want.

Which Democratic candidate would be most likely to give those voters what they want? Not Hillary, it's safe to say.

Right now, during the primaries, she can get away with boasting about her tenure in the Clinton administration. Party activists are drunk with Clinton nostalgia. On the stump in Iowa, Bill Clinton responded to the claim that Hillary was "yesterday's news" by saying, yeah, but "yesterday's news was pretty good."

In the general election, audiences will remember Whitewater, travelgate, illegal fundraising, bimbo eruptions and impeachment. If they don't, you can be sure Republicans will remind them. Fair or not, the Republicans' intense dislike of Hillary will underscore the idea that a vote for her is a vote for more of the same rancor.

Hence the irony of the Clinton candidacy. Liberal activists keep saying that they want a candidate who is pure, who speaks from the heart and refuses to "triangulate" on core principles the way Bill Clinton did. But Hillary Clinton is Clintonian in more than just name. On national security in particular, she has been alternating between reflexive anti-Bushism to bouts of outright hawkishness on Iran. Desperate to win, Democrats have been willing to overlook that -- so far. But such shifting costs her credibility and passion.

It's all deeply reminiscent of how John Kerry wound up as the nominee in 2004. Once Howard Dean, the conviction candidate, experienced the political equivalent of spontaneous human combustion, Democrats immediately cast about not for another principled politician but one they deemed electable. Bizarrely, they settled on the left-wing senator from Massachusetts who synthesized Ted Kennedy's politics with Michael Dukakis' charisma while bragging about his service in a war he built a career denouncing.

If Democrats could get out of their bubble, it might dawn on them that virtually all of their other candidates are better positioned to run as champions of change. Hillary Clinton has shrewdly tried to trim the differences between her and the competition by claiming that any of them would be better than George W. Bush. From a liberal perspective, that's obviously true. But that perspective won't necessarily dominate come next fall, particularly if conditions in Iraq continue to improve.

Is it really so obvious that, say, Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney represent "change" less than the ultimate Clinton retread, complete with Bill as "first gentleman?" That's how Democrats are betting right now, and they may be bitterly disappointed -- again -- when it comes time to collect.

jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com"

Which Presidential candidate gets your worldview? Find out now!

There are a lot of websites cropping up that ask you a series of 9-15 questions on issues of the day and then based up your results tell you which candidate comes closest to your world view. Why the Government doesn't have a more in detail site like this for every presidential candidate in every election..?...hmmmph.

None of these sites are great. All of them have at least 2-3 "bad" questions. For example they ask, "Energy: Do you support federal assistance for the production of ethanol and/or biofuel as an alternative to oil?"

The idea behind the question is essentially, "Should be we giving money to US corporations to develop alternate fuel sources so situations in the Middle East will not dictate the price of fuel, or should the government not give out money, even to end our reliance on the middle east?" As it stands, I think a lot of people would not get the implications of the question.

They ask, "Social Security: Do you favor the concept of privatization of Social Security to any degree?" Well, as someone who answered "No", I think the problem with this question is that it is a very weighted issue. Do I think we could do something positive to privatize social security? Possibly. Do I think the odds are that any move to privatize social security will backfire on a large chunk of the populace due to stock market fluctuations which will ultimately dictate a hugely expensive government bailout--- Absolutely. So I am forced to say no. If you give in on privatizing social security, there is no way social security (which is quite fixable) will ever be fixed. As soon as you go with privatized social security, the politicians will loot National Social Security funds.


Then their are the questions that have answers that don't match up with the candidate's views or are quite similar. Do I vote "Decentralize Iraq by dividing it into regions of separate governments." or "Draw down the U.S. troops and decentralize Iraq by dividing it into regions of separate governments."? I voted for the latter and they said Joe Biden disagreed with me on this issue, but on his site he clearly states, "It is now time to start drawing down U.S. forces, not just to pre-surge levels but well below them, and to limit the mission of those who remain to fighting al-Qaida in Iraq, training Iraqis to police themselves and helping them protect their own borders." So in fact, the site is wrong on this issue.

That said, this site is pretty good. They rightly named my top two candidates as Biden then Obama.

This one is a scaled down WQAD candidate survey is based on the original SELECT A CANDIDATE survey developed by Minnesota Public Radio and posted at: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/select_a_candidate/.

http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460

****************************************************************************
The original is much more detailed (made by NPR, so no suprise there.)

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/select_a_candidate/poll.php?race_id=13


"Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does Select A Candidate tell me who to vote for?

A: Absolutely not. Its main purpose is to introduce you to the candidates who are running and their positions on the issues.

Q: How did you come up with these questions?

A: The questions mirror the campaign. There might be issues we are interested in that haven't come up in the campaign so far, and those aren't listed here. Should they come up -- and we have a mechanism for your interests to be part of the campaign -- they will be added to Select A Candidate. The choices from each question mirror positions that candidates have stated. If no answer is close to your position, do not answer the question, for there is no candidate with that position.

Q: How does the scoring work?

A: Each candidate gets 1 point for each question that matches your answer. If you indicate that an issue is very important to you, the candidate gets 3 points. If you indicate that the issue is of no importance to you, the candidate gets 0 points. In this way, the "match" is weighted to reflect those issues on which you decide elections."

Once more confirmed: Poll results prove America rejects politicians with principles.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x2882.xml?ReleaseID=1109

"October 10, 2007 - Clinton Express Rolls Through Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania,

Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll Finds ---
FLORIDA: Clinton 46 - Giuliani 43;
OHIO: Clinton 46 - Giuliani 40;
PENNSYLVANIA: Clinton 48 - Giuliani 42


New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is overwhelming Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and the rest of the Democratic primary field, and slowly increasing her lead over New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the Republican front-runner, in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to Quinnipiac University's Swing State Poll, three simultaneous surveys of voters in states that have been pivotal in presidential elections since 1964.


Sen. Clinton's support appears to be as deep as it is wide. In Ohio, 74 percent of her supporters say they are not too likely or not likely at all to change their mind. In Florida, 59 percent of her supporters are unlikely to change their mind; in Pennsylvania it's 56 percent.


Giuliani voters are less committed, as no more than 39 percent in any state say they are unlikely to change their mind.


Clinton and Giuliani dominate their party primaries in each state, even though voters say Obama and Arizona Sen. John McCain are more principled in their decision-making.


Matchups by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds:
Florida: Clinton tops Giuliani 46 - 43 percent, breaking a 44 - 44 percent tie September 12;
Ohio: Clinton tops Giuliani 46 - 40 percent, compared to 47 - 40 percent September 6;
Pennsylvania: Clinton beats Giuliani 48 - 42 percent, up from 46 - 44 percent August 23.

"The news just keeps getting better for Sen. Clinton. She has a Democratic primary lead over Sen. Obama ranging from 27 to 34 points in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania and is widening her margin over the Republican hopefuls in each of those three critical states," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.


"The candidates who trail Sen. Clinton and hope that they can pry voters away from her should wake up and smell the coffee. Not only is she far, far ahead, but a much greater share of her voters say they are unlikely to change their minds than those committed to other Democrats. This should not be any surprise. Sen. Clinton has been a favorite of Democratic activists for the past 15 years and benefits greatly from being Bill Clinton's wife - since he is probably the most popular Democrat in America," Brown added.


Many Democrats think Clinton has the nomination "locked up," 44 percent in Florida, 43 percent in Ohio and 31 percent in Pennsylvania.


Very few Republican voters think Giuliani has the nomination "locked up," 14 percent in Florida, 11 percent in Ohio and 15 percent in Pennsylvania.


"Mayor Giuliani's lead over his Republican counterparts remains stable, but the vast, vast majority of Republicans don't believe he has the nomination locked up, and even six in ten of his supporters say they are somewhat or very likely to change their mind," Brown said.


Florida Findings


Looking at other possible 2008 presidential matchups in Florida, the Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll finds:
Clinton tops McCain 46 - 42 percent, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson 48 - 39 percent and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 48 - 37 percent;
Giuliani bests Obama 42 - 39 percent and edges Edwards 43 - 41 percent;
Obama beats Thompson 45 - 36 percent and Romney 43 - 36 percent, but trails McCain 41 - 39 percent;
Edwards edges McCain 42 - 40 percent and beats Thompson 44 - 36 percent and Romney 47 - 33 percent.

In a Democratic primary, Clinton gets 51 percent, followed by 17 percent for Obama and 10 percent for John Edwards.


Among Republicans, Giuliani gets 27 percent, with 19 percent for Thompson, 17 percent for Romney and 8 percent for McCain.


By a 49 - 41 percent margin, Florida voters have a favorable opinion of Clinton. Favorability ratings for other contenders are:
49 - 34 percent for Giuliani;
43 - 30 percent for McCain;
47 - 27 percent for Obama;
46 - 32 percent for Edwards;
29 - 24 percent for Thompson;
30 - 20 percent for Romney.


Ohio Results


In other possible 2008 presidential matchups in Ohio:
Clinton beats McCain 48 - 38 percent, Thompson 50 -36 percent and Romney 51 - 34 percent;
Obama tops Giuliani 44 - 38 percent, McCain 43 - 39 percent, Thompson 44 - 33 percent and Romney 47 - 31 percent;
Edwards bests Giuliani 46 - 36 percent, McCain 46 - 35 percent, Thompson 48 - 31 percent and Romney 50 - 28 percent.

Clinton leads in a Democratic primary matchup with 47 percent, followed by 19 percent for Obama and 11 percent for Edwards.


In a Republican primary race, Giuliani gets 29 percent, with 17 percent for Thompson, 10 percent for McCain and 8 percent for Romney.


Ohio voters give Clinton a 49 - 42 percent favorability rating. Other favorability ratings are:
42 - 33 percent for Giuliani;
40 - 28 percent for McCain;
45 - 26 percent for Obama;
47 - 26 percent for Edwards;
23 - 19 percent for Thompson;
19 - 22 percent for Romney. Pennsylvania Results

In other possible 2008 presidential matchups in Pennsylvania:
Clinton tops McCain 48 - 41 percent, Thompson 50 - 39 percent and Romney 49 - 37 percent;
Giuliani edges Obama 45 - 43 percent and gets 44 percent to Edwards' 43 percent;
Obama beats McCain 45 - 41 percent, Thompson 45 - 37 percent and Romney 49 - 33 percent;
Edwards tops McCain 47 - 39 percent, Thompson 47 - 34 percent and Romney 49 - 32 percent.

In a Democratic primary, Clinton leads with 41 percent, with 14 percent for Obama and 11 percent for Edwards.


Giuliani leads Republicans with 32 percent, followed by 13 percent each for Thompson and McCain and 8 percent for Romney.


Clinton gets a 51 - 42 percent favorability rating from Pennsylvania voters. Favorability ratings for other contenders are:
51 - 30 percent for Giuliani;
43 - 26 percent for McCain;
48 - 22 percent for Obama;
49 - 27 percent for Edwards;
26 - 21 percent for Thompson;
24 - 23 percent for Romney.

"Fred Thompson is chasing Giuliani in all three states, but his momentum seems to have slowed. Mitt Romney may be a household name in Iowa where he leads the polls, but in the Big 3 of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania he remains far back. He has picked up some support among Republicans in Florida, where he is the only candidate advertising on television," Brown said.



Principled Decision Makers


In each state, Obama tops Clinton on the question of "principle," asking whether a candidate makes decisions based on what he or she thinks is right or based on what is popular with voters. Florida voters say 43 - 32 percent that Obama decides on principle rather than popularity; 40 - 34 percent in Ohio and 45 - 29 percent in Pennsylvania.

This compares to Clinton's "principle" scale, negative in each state: 42 - 49 percent in Florida, 39 - 52 percent in Ohio and 40 - 48 percent in Pennsylvania.


Among Republicans, McCain has a higher "principle" rating than Giuliani in each state. McCain's scale is 51 - 29 percent in Florida, 43 - 33 percent in Ohio and 49 - 29 percent in Pennsylvania.


Giuliani's "principle" scale is 43 - 42 percent in Florida, 40 - 40 percent in Ohio and 42 - 41 percent in Pennsylvania.


"Voters say they want politicians with principles, but they don't seem to vote for the candidates who have them," said Brown. "Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain are considered by far the most principled in their decision-making, but they are both far back in their races for their respective party nominations.

"When it comes to the front-runners, voters see Mayor Giuliani as more principled than Sen. Clinton."


From October 1 - 8, Quinnipiac University surveyed:
869 Florida voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percent, including 345 Republicans and 337 Democrats, each with a margin of error of +/- 5.3 percent;
946 Ohio voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent, including 321 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 5.5 percent, and 357 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 5.2 percent;
878 Pennsylvania voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percent, including 355 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 5.2 percent and 393 Democrats, with a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and nationwide as a public service and for research. For more data -- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x271.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.



1. (If registered Democrat) If the 2008 Democratic primary for President were being held today, and the candidates were Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton,Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson for whom would you vote?


REGISTERED DEMOCRATS
FL OH PA

Biden 2% 2% 5%
Clinton 51 47 41
Dodd - - -
Edwards 10 11 11
Gravel - - -
Kucinich 1 2 3
Obama 17 19 14
Richardson 2 1 3
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 - 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 2 3
DK/NA 14 15 18



2. (If registered Republican) If the 2008 Republican primary for President were being held today, and the candidates were Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Fred Thompson for whom would you vote?


REGISTERED REPUBLICANS
FL OH PA

Brownback 1% 1% -
Giuliani 27 29 32
Huckabee 4 5 2
Hunter - 1 1
McCain 8 10 13
Paul 2 1 4
Romney 17 8 8
Tancredo 1 1 -
Thompson,F. 19 17 13
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 3 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 2
DK/NA 16 22 20



1. (If registered Democrat) If the 2008 Democratic primary for President were being held today, and the candidates were Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton,Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson for whom would you vote?


REGISTERED DEMOCRATS
........................FL Men Wom

Biden 2% 2% 1%
Clinton 51 46 54
Dodd - - -
Edwards 10 17 6
Gravel - - -
Kucinich 1 2 1
Obama 17 12 20
Richardson 2 4 1
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 2 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 2 1
DK/NA 14 14 14

........................OH Men Wom

Biden 2% 3% 1%
Clinton 47 41 50
Dodd - - -
Edwards 11 13 10
Gravel - - -
Kucinich 2 3 2
Obama 19 22 17
Richardson 1 2 1
SMONE ELSE(VOL) - 1 -
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 2 2
DK/NA 15 13 16

........................PA Men Wom

Biden 5% 8% 2%
Clinton 41 36 44
Dodd - 1 -
Edwards 11 13 10
Gravel - - -
Kucinich 3 4 2
Obama 14 14 15
Richardson 3 5 1
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 2
DK/NA 18 14 21



1a. (If express choice) How likely is it that you could change your mind? Very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, not likely at all?


REG DEMS EXPRESSING CHOICE Q1
Q1
........................FL Men Wom HC

Very likely 11% 5% 14% 10%
Smwht likely 33 41 28 30
Not too likely 16 15 16 14
Not likely at all 39 38 40 45
DK/NA 2 2 2 1

........................OH Men Wom HC

Very likely 11% 15% 8% 6%
Smwht likely 29 28 29 18
Not too likely 21 19 22 26
Not likely at all 38 37 40 48
DK/NA 1 2 1 1

........................PA Men Wom HC

Very likely 11% 13% 9% 6%
Smwht likely 43 48 39 38
Not too likely 19 15 22 23
Not likely at all 26 23 29 33
DK/NA 1 1 1 -



2. (If registered Republican) If the 2008 Republican primary for President were being held today, and the candidates were Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Fred Thompson for whom would you vote?


REGISTERED REPUBLICANS..........
WtBrnAgn
........................FL Men Wom Evnglcl

Brownback 1% - 2% 3%
Giuliani 27 25 29 17
Huckabee 4 5 3 8
Hunter - - - -
McCain 8 8 7 8
Paul 2 4 - 2
Romney 17 23 10 16
Tancredo 1 1 - -
Thompson,F. 19 20 17 22
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 2 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 3 2
DK/NA 16 9 25 19

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Men Wom Evnglcl

Brownback 1% 1% - -
Giuliani 29 29 30 21
Huckabee 5 6 4 9
Hunter 1 1 - 1
McCain 10 11 8 6
Paul 1 2 1 2
Romney 8 10 6 9
Tancredo 1 - 1 1
Thompson,F. 17 21 13 20
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 3 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 3 2
DK/NA 22 15 29 25

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Men Wom Evnglcl

Brownback - - - -
Giuliani 32 32 32 30
Huckabee 2 2 2 4
Hunter 1 2 1 3
McCain 13 8 18 14
Paul 4 6 2 -
Romney 8 9 8 11
Tancredo - - - -
Thompson 13 18 8 13
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 3 3 5
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 1 3 -
DK/NA 20 19 21 19



2a. (If express choice) How likely is it that you could change your mind? Very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, not likely at all?


REG REPS EXPRESSING CHOICE Q2......
WtBrnAgn Q2
........................FL Men Wom Evnglcl RG

Very likely 17% 19% 14% 13% 11%
Smwht likely 44 39 52 52 49
Not too likely 21 22 19 20 19
Not likely at all 18 20 15 14 20
DK/NA - - - 1 -

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Men Wom Evnglcl RG

Very likely 17% 13% 21% 11% 19%
Smwht likely 48 51 45 54 43
Not too likely 16 16 16 18 18
Not likely at all 17 19 15 14 19
DK/NA 2 1 3 3 1

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Men Wom Evnglcl RG

Very likely 11% 11% 11% 14% 11%
Smwht likely 58 56 61 60 61
Not too likely 15 16 13 16 14
Not likely at all 14 14 14 10 12
DK/NA 2 3 1 1 2



3-14. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were -- the Democrat and -- the Republican, for whom would you vote?

FL OH PA

Clinton 46% 46% 48%
Giuliani 43 40 42

Obama 39% 44% 43%
Giuliani 42 38 45

Edwards 41% 46% 43%
Giuliani 43 36 44

Clinton 46% 48% 48%
McCain 42 38 41

Obama 39% 43% 45%
McCain 41 39 41

Edwards 42% 46% 47%
McCain 40 35 39

Clinton 48% 50% 50%
Thompson 39 36 39

Obama 45% 44% 45%
Thompson 36 33 37

Edwards 44% 48% 47%
Thompson 36 31 34

Clinton 48% 51% 49%
Romney 37 34 37

Obama 43% 47% 49%
Romney 36 31 33

Edwards 47% 50% 49%
Romney 33 28 32



3. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would you vote?
WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 46% 8% 86% 36% 35% 56% 29%
Giuliani 43 85 9 45 52 33 62
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 1 3 1 2 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 1 1 7 6 2 3
DK/NA 6 5 4 9 6 7 5

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 46% 5% 86% 33% 41% 51% 32%
Giuliani 40 86 7 45 45 37 54
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 5 3 2 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 3 2 5 6 2 5
DK/NA 7 3 4 12 5 9 7

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 48% 11% 83% 45% 42% 54% 29%
Giuliani 42 82 9 45 47 38 63
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 3 1 2 3 1 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 1 2 3 5 1 2
DK/NA 5 3 5 5 3 6 5



4. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 39% 7% 71% 36% 33% 45% 24%
Giuliani 42 83 11 45 49 35 58
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 2 3 - 4 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 2 6 4 8 3 5
DK/NA 11 7 11 12 9 13 10

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 44% 8% 76% 38% 41% 46% 28%
Giuliani 38 82 8 39 41 35 53
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 1 3 6 5 2 4
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 3 6 6 6 5 5
DK/NA 9 5 7 12 6 12 10

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 43% 9% 74% 42% 39% 46% 27%
Giuliani 45 79 16 47 50 40 61
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 3 1 1 2 2 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 - 3 3 4 3 1
DK/NA 7 9 6 6 5 10 8



5. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were John Edwards the Democrat and Rudy Giuliani the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 41% 7% 75% 37% 35% 47% 30%
Giuliani 43 87 9 45 51 35 55
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 2 3 - 4 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 - 8 4 7 3 3
DK/NA 8 5 7 10 6 11 9

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 46% 9% 79% 40% 42% 50% 33%
Giuliani 36 81 7 36 43 31 47
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 1 3 6 5 2 4
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 4 3 4 5 3 4
DK/NA 10 6 8 14 5 15 12

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 43% 11% 72% 39% 40% 45% 31%
Giuliani 44 79 13 51 48 40 57
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 1 2 3 1 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 1 3 2 5 2 1
DK/NA 9 7 10 6 5 12 10



6. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and John McCain the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 46% 10% 82% 39% 35% 57% 33%
McCain 42 84 11 44 52 33 58
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 - 3 1 2 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 1 2 6 5 2 2
DK/NA 6 5 5 8 7 6 6

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 48% 6% 87% 36% 41% 54% 32%
McCain 38 82 8 40 43 34 55
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 - 5 3 2 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 3 2 6 6 2 3
DK/NA 8 7 3 13 7 9 8

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 48% 14% 82% 42% 40% 55% 29%
McCain 41 78 10 45 48 35 63
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 1 2 3 2 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 4 1 5 5 2 2
DK/NA 5 2 5 6 4 6 3



7. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and John McCain the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 39% 11% 68% 36% 35% 44% 23%
McCain 41 81 17 38 47 36 62
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 - 4 - 4 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 6 2 8 5 7 5 5
DK/NA 11 6 6 17 11 11 8

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 43% 12% 73% 37% 40% 46% 24%
McCain 39 76 13 40 43 35 56
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 3 4 4 3 4
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 2 5 5 6 3 3
DK/NA 10 8 6 14 7 13 13

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 45% 16% 75% 42% 38% 52% 29%
McCain 41 70 15 47 48 35 56
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 1 1 2 1 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 4 2 4 4 3 3
DK/NA 8 9 7 6 7 9 11



8. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were John Edwards the Democrat and John McCain the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 42% 8% 77% 38% 34% 50% 30%
McCain 40 81 13 39 48 33 58
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 - 5 2 3 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 2 5 6 8 3 3
DK/NA 9 9 5 12 8 11 7

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 46% 10% 78% 41% 43% 49% 33%
McCain 35 78 7 33 38 32 47
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 3 6 5 2 4
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 4 5 5 7 2 3
DK/NA 11 7 8 15 8 14 13

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 47% 15% 74% 44% 43% 50% 33%
McCain 39 72 13 44 45 34 54
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 1 - 2 2 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 3 2 3 4 3 2
DK/NA 9 7 9 8 6 11 10



9. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and Fred Thompson the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 48% 11% 85% 41% 37% 58% 35%
Thompson 39 79 10 37 47 30 55
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1 - 3 - 2 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 3 2 9 7 3 2
DK/NA 7 6 3 11 8 7 6

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 50% 9% 90% 36% 43% 56% 34%
Thompson 36 79 5 38 44 30 54
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 - 4 2 1 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 1 6 5 2 2
DK/NA 9 7 3 16 7 11 9

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 50% 16% 84% 47% 44% 56% 31%
Thompson 39 76 9 39 46 33 61
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 3 2 1 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 2 3 4 2 2
DK/NA 6 5 5 8 4 8 6



10. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and Fred Thompson the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 45% 12% 76% 44% 40% 50% 26%
Thompson 36 75 10 35 43 30 55
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 - 2 3 1 3 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 3 3 4 7 4 3
DK/NA 12 10 8 14 9 14 13

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 44% 15% 75% 35% 39% 49% 28%
Thompson 33 71 8 34 40 28 49
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 3 4 3 3 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 2 7 7 6 4 3
DK/NA 14 10 8 20 11 16 17

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 45% 13% 75% 44% 39% 50% 29%
Thompson 37 68 12 37 44 31 51
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 3 2 3 3 2 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 1 3 5 4 3 3
DK/NA 12 14 8 11 9 14 15



11. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were John Edwards the Democrat and Fred Thompson the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 44% 11% 74% 44% 38% 51% 33%
Thompson 36 75 12 31 43 29 53
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 - 2 3 - 3 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 6 4 4 7 8 4 3
DK/NA 12 10 8 14 10 13 9

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 48% 15% 78% 41% 43% 51% 34%
Thompson 31 69 6 32 37 26 46
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 3 4 4 2 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 5 2 6 7 6 4 3
DK/NA 14 12 8 17 10 17 15

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 47% 16% 72% 48% 46% 47% 33%
Thompson 34 64 14 31 39 30 48
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 3 1 3 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 3 2 5 4 4 2
DK/NA 13 16 10 13 10 16 15



12. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and Mitt Romney the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 48% 9% 86% 42% 38% 58% 33%
Romney 37 79 6 36 45 29 54
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 - 3 2 1 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 4 2 6 5 3 5
DK/NA 9 6 6 13 10 9 7

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 51% 9% 91% 38% 43% 57% 35%
Romney 34 78 5 35 41 28 51
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 - 5 3 2 2
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 3 1 7 6 3 3
DK/NA 9 8 3 14 8 11 9

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Clinton 49% 12% 85% 47% 44% 54% 32%
Romney 37 75 7 38 43 32 59
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 1 2 3 1 -
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 2 4 4 2 3
DK/NA 8 8 5 9 6 10 6



13. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and Mitt Romney the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 43% 7% 74% 45% 38% 47% 25%
Romney 36 77 10 32 43 28 53
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 2 4 1 3 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 6 4 6 4 7 5 5
DK/NA 13 10 8 15 10 16 13

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 47% 14% 79% 39% 44% 49% 28%
Romney 31 69 6 31 37 26 47
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 2 5 3 3 5
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 6 5 6 7 7 5 4
DK/NA 14 10 8 18 9 18 15

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Obama 49% 14% 79% 53% 43% 55% 32%
Romney 33 69 9 29 39 28 52
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 3 1 2 3 1 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 3 3 3 5 3 3
DK/NA 11 12 7 13 10 13 13



14. If the 2008 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were John Edwards the Democrat and Mitt Romney the Republican, for whom would you vote?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 47% 14% 79% 44% 39% 55% 38%
Romney 33 74 6 31 40 26 47
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 2 4 2 3 3
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 6 4 3 6 8 3 4
DK/NA 12 7 10 15 11 14 8

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 50% 16% 80% 45% 45% 54% 36%
Romney 28 68 4 22 34 23 40
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 4 2 3 6 5 2 4
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 4 4 6 6 3 3
DK/NA 14 10 8 21 9 18 17

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Edwards 49% 15% 78% 50% 47% 51% 39%
Romney 32 66 8 30 37 27 44
SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 3 2 2 1
WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 3 2 6 5 4 2
DK/NA 13 15 11 11 9 17 14



15. Is your opinion of -- Hillary Clinton favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 49% 16% 81% 46% 42% 56% 34%
Unfavorable 41 76 10 44 52 31 56
Hvn't hrd enough 7 5 7 7 4 10 8
REFUSED 3 3 2 3 1 4 3

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 49% 10% 87% 38% 43% 55% 34%
Unfavorable 42 83 7 52 49 35 61
Hvn't hrd enough 6 4 5 8 6 6 3
REFUSED 2 3 1 2 1 3 2

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 51% 15% 84% 47% 43% 59% 35%
Unfavorable 42 76 10 47 50 35 56
Hvn't hrd enough 4 6 4 3 3 5 6
REFUSED 3 3 3 3 3 2 3



16. Is your opinion of -- John Edwards favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 46% 25% 67% 45% 44% 49% 41%
Unfavorable 32 55 10 34 37 26 39
Hvn't hrd enough 20 18 22 20 17 23 19
REFUSED 2 2 1 1 2 2 1

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 47% 24% 68% 45% 41% 53% 41%
Unfavorable 26 53 8 27 33 20 39
Hvn't hrd enough 24 22 23 26 24 25 18
REFUSED 2 1 2 2 2 3 2

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 49% 25% 69% 48% 50% 49% 42%
Unfavorable 27 44 12 27 33 21 32
Hvn't hrd enough 21 27 16 22 15 27 24
REFUSED 3 4 2 3 3 3 2



17. Is your opinion of -- Rudy Giuliani favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 49% 78% 28% 52% 54% 44% 60%
Unfavorable 34 8 50 33 34 33 21
Hvn't hrd enough 15 13 20 11 9 21 17
REFUSED 3 2 2 4 3 2 2

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 42% 75% 21% 42% 44% 40% 50%
Unfavorable 33 12 48 33 34 32 25
Hvn't hrd enough 23 12 29 23 21 25 22
REFUSED 2 1 2 3 1 3 3

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 51% 74% 34% 50% 51% 50% 61%
Unfavorable 30 10 44 31 33 27 19
Hvn't hrd enough 16 14 18 16 13 19 18
REFUSED 3 1 4 3 2 4 2



18. Is your opinion of -- John McCain favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 43% 58% 31% 51% 48% 39% 54%
Unfavorable 30 18 38 27 30 30 22
Hvn't hrd enough 23 19 29 17 18 28 22
REFUSED 3 5 2 4 4 3 2

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 40% 64% 24% 38% 46% 35% 44%
Unfavorable 28 17 39 26 29 27 25
Hvn't hrd enough 29 15 35 32 22 35 28
REFUSED 3 4 2 3 3 3 3

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 43% 58% 27% 51% 47% 39% 55%
Unfavorable 26 17 34 24 30 23 17
Hvn't hrd enough 29 23 37 24 22 35 27
REFUSED 2 1 2 2 1 2 1



19. Is your opinion of -- Barack Obama favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 47% 22% 65% 50% 45% 49% 38%
Unfavorable 27 51 11 21 30 24 35
Hvn't hrd enough 25 24 23 28 24 26 25
REFUSED 1 2 1 1 1 2 3

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 45% 25% 61% 46% 42% 47% 28%
Unfavorable 26 47 12 25 33 20 37
Hvn't hrd enough 27 25 25 28 23 30 34
REFUSED 2 3 2 1 2 3 1

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 48% 33% 64% 49% 46% 50% 41%
Unfavorable 22 30 11 23 27 17 24
Hvn't hrd enough 28 34 24 26 24 32 32
REFUSED 2 2 1 2 3 1 2



20. Is your opinion of -- Mitt Romney favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 30% 54% 13% 30% 38% 23% 41%
Unfavorable 20 8 28 22 18 22 17
Hvn't hrd enough 48 37 58 45 43 53 40
REFUSED 2 1 1 3 1 2 2

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 19% 41% 9% 13% 25% 15% 29%
Unfavorable 22 11 31 22 25 20 15
Hvn't hrd enough 57 47 58 63 49 64 55
REFUSED 1 1 2 2 1 2 2

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 24% 43% 8% 27% 28% 22% 34%
Unfavorable 23 8 32 26 27 20 15
Hvn't hrd enough 51 48 58 45 44 57 50
REFUSED 2 1 1 2 2 2 1



21. Is your opinion of -- Fred Thompson favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 29% 52% 14% 28% 38% 21% 40%
Unfavorable 24 8 35 25 25 23 15
Hvn't hrd enough 45 39 50 43 35 55 45
REFUSED 1 - 1 3 1 1 -

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 23% 44% 9% 24% 27% 20% 36%
Unfavorable 19 7 29 18 22 17 10
Hvn't hrd enough 55 47 59 57 50 60 52
REFUSED 2 2 3 1 2 2 2

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Favorable 26% 41% 13% 30% 32% 21% 31%
Unfavorable 21 8 32 20 24 18 10
Hvn't hrd enough 52 51 55 50 43 60 59
REFUSED 1 - 1 - - 1 -



22. (If registered Democrat) How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the choice of candidates for the Democratic nomination for president this year - Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied?

REGISTERED DEMOCRATS
........................FL Men Wom

Very satisfied 45% 46% 44%
Smwht satisfied 39 34 42
Smwht dissatisfied 8 12 6
Very dissatisfied 7 7 7
DK/NA 1 1 2

........................OH Men Wom

Very satisfied 39% 37% 41%
Smwht satisfied 43 35 48
Smwht dissatisfied 11 18 7
Very dissatisfied 3 6 2
DK/NA 4 5 3

........................PA Men Wom

Very satisfied 33% 29% 37%
Smwht satisfied 50 48 52
Smwht dissatisfied 9 13 5
Very dissatisfied 6 10 3
DK/NA 2 - 3



23.(If registered Democrat)Do you think Hillary Clinton has the Democratic nomination for President locked up?


REGISTERED DEMOCRATS
........................FL Men Wom

Yes 44% 51% 40%
No 45 44 46
DK/NA 11 6 14

........................OH Men Wom

Yes 43% 44% 43%
No 48 49 47
DK/NA 9 7 10

........................PA Men Wom

Yes 31% 30% 32%
No 58 66 53
DK/NA 10 3 15



24.(If registered Republican)How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the choice of candidates for the Republican nomination for president this year - Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied?


REGISTERED REPUBLICANS ........
WtBrnAgn
........................FL Men Wom Evnglcl

Very satisfied 18% 20% 17% 13%
Smwht satisfied 49 50 48 61
Smwht dissatisfied 21 18 24 20
Very dissatisfied 9 10 7 3
DK/NA 3 2 4 4

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Men Wom Evnglcl

Very satisfied 16% 15% 16% 15%
Smwht satisfied 54 63 46 58
Smwht dissatisfied 22 13 30 20
Very dissatisfied 7 8 5 5
DK/NA 2 1 3 2

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Men Wom Evnglcl

Very satisfied 13% 15% 11% 7%
Smwht satisfied 55 49 60 65
Smwht dissatisfied 22 25 19 21
Very dissatisfied 8 8 7 6
DK/NA 3 3 3 1



25. (If registered Republican)Do you think Rudy Giuliani has the Republican nomination for President locked up?


REGISTERED REPUBLICANS ........
WtBrnAgn
........................FL Men Wom Evnglcl

Yes 14% 15% 14% 11%
No 78 80 75 81
DK/NA 8 5 11 7

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Men Wom Evnglcl

Yes 11% 12% 11% 15%
No 78 82 75 76
DK/NA 10 5 15 8

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Men Wom Evnglcl

Yes 15% 16% 14% 17%
No 76 81 71 71
DK/NA 9 2 16 12



26. Do you think that most public officials make decisions based on principle and what they think is right, or do so based on what they think is popular at the time?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 18% 19% 23% 9% 12% 23% 17%
What's popular 72 68 68 80 75 68 75
DK/NA 11 13 8 11 13 9 8

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 19% 22% 21% 14% 16% 22% 19%
What's popular 70 71 66 75 74 67 72
DK/NA 11 8 13 11 10 12 9

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 21% 23% 24% 13% 18% 23% 17%
What's popular 69 67 67 76 74 65 73
DK/NA 10 9 9 11 8 12 10



27. Whether you personally agree with him or not, do you believe -- Rudy Giuliani makes decisions based on principle and what he thinks is right, or does he make decisions based on what he thinks is popular at the time?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 43% 61% 31% 44% 43% 43% 52%
What's popular 42 27 52 43 45 40 37
DK/NA 14 11 17 13 11 17 11

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 40% 60% 26% 41% 43% 37% 46%
What's popular 40 27 49 42 42 39 37
DK/NA 20 13 25 18 15 24 17

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 42% 62% 29% 44% 44% 40% 51%
What's popular 41 22 55 41 43 40 30
DK/NA 17 16 16 16 13 20 18



28. Whether you personally agree with him or not, do you believe -- Fred Thompson makes decisions based on principle and what he thinks is right, or does he make decisions based on what he thinks is popular at the time?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 28% 45% 18% 28% 35% 22% 42%
What's popular 29 19 38 28 30 28 23
DK/NA 43 36 45 44 36 50 35

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 24% 42% 14% 21% 30% 19% 34%
What's popular 25 17 33 26 29 22 16
DK/NA 51 41 53 53 41 59 50

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 22% 34% 15% 20% 26% 18% 28%
What's popular 24 17 28 24 29 19 17
DK/NA 54 49 57 56 45 63 54



29. Whether you personally agree with her or not, do you believe -- Hillary Clinton makes decisions based on principle and what she thinks is right, or does she make decisions based on what she thinks is popular at the time?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 42% 14% 72% 32% 35% 50% 34%
What's popular 49 76 21 59 60 38 57
DK/NA 9 10 6 9 6 13 9

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 39% 14% 64% 29% 33% 44% 28%
What's popular 52 78 30 59 59 46 65
DK/NA 9 8 7 11 8 11 8

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 40% 17% 62% 37% 32% 47% 29%
What's popular 48 70 28 52 55 42 60
DK/NA 12 13 10 11 13 11 11



30. Whether you personally agree with him or not, do you believe -- Mitt Romney makes decisions based on principle and what he thinks is right, or does he make decisions based on what he thinks is popular at the time?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 27% 44% 19% 27% 29% 25% 42%
What's popular 30 24 35 28 31 29 27
DK/NA 43 32 46 44 40 46 31

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 22% 33% 14% 21% 26% 18% 31%
What's popular 29 22 33 32 35 24 21
DK/NA 49 45 53 47 39 58 48

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 24% 36% 17% 25% 26% 23% 30%
What's popular 28 21 32 26 33 23 25
DK/NA 48 44 51 49 41 54 44



31. Whether you personally agree with him or not, do you believe -- John McCain makes decisions based on principle and what he thinks is right, or does he make decisions based on what he thinks is popular at the time?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 51% 57% 47% 58% 54% 48% 63%
What's popular 29 32 29 24 31 28 24
DK/NA 20 11 24 18 15 24 13

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 43% 62% 31% 42% 45% 40% 50%
What's popular 33 24 40 33 36 30 26
DK/NA 25 14 29 26 18 30 24

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 49% 56% 42% 57% 53% 45% 58%
What's popular 29 22 35 25 29 28 22
DK/NA 23 22 23 18 18 27 20



32. Whether you personally agree with him or not, do you believe -- Barack Obama makes decisions based on principle and what he thinks is right, or does he make decisions based on what he thinks is popular at the time?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 43% 30% 59% 41% 38% 49% 40%
What's popular 32 43 23 30 38 26 36
DK/NA 25 27 18 29 24 26 24

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 40% 31% 52% 35% 38% 42% 32%
What's popular 34 44 25 36 40 28 38
DK/NA 26 24 23 29 22 30 30

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 45% 32% 57% 48% 43% 47% 39%
What's popular 29 36 23 28 35 24 29
DK/NA 26 32 20 24 22 29 32



33. Whether you personally agree with him or not, do you believe -- John Edwards makes decisions based on principle and what he thinks is right, or does he make decisions based on what he thinks is popular at the time?


WtBrnAgn
........................FL Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 39% 23% 57% 37% 34% 44% 35%
What's popular 41 57 24 46 48 35 45
DK/NA 20 20 19 17 18 21 19

WtBrnAgn
........................OH Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 39% 27% 54% 35% 33% 44% 35%
What's popular 40 56 27 42 49 32 45
DK/NA 21 17 19 24 18 24 20

WtBrnAgn
........................PA Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl

Principle 40% 24% 51% 45% 39% 41% 36%
What's popular 38 47 30 37 42 34 44
DK/NA 23 29 19 18 20 25 20"


.................................................................................


Those of you who have read this blog for a while may recall my questioning of Republicans for not voting for McCain --- someone most would agree is a hero and a patriot. I have also lightly questioned why Hillary has as much of a stranglehold on this nomination as she does, although I put a lot more of the fault on Obama's advisors, who are absolute shit.

It is nice to see that something I have thought for a long time is true. Regardless of the Bush phenomenon, Americans CAN identify candidates with principles --- most just chose not to vote for them. Americans' like winning lying bastards more than a potential losing candidates with principles. I hope one of these days the majority of Americans change our voting habits, but I am not counting on it.