Poll shows Obama strongest general election candidate, Clinton weakest.

[Clarkie1]

Although Clinton commands considerable support among likely Democratic primary voters, she struggles in general election match-ups, according to the poll. If the contest were held today, both Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani would prevail over Clinton.

Obama, in contrast, would eke out a slight win over both Republican candidates. Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards is neck-and-neck with the Republicans.

"There are a lot of independents. These are the same people who loathe Bush, loathe the Iraq war," said Del Ali, president of Research 2000, the Maryland-based nonpartisan polling firm that conducted the poll for the Monitor last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. "But deep down, they don't like Hillary Clinton."


http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2006/12/obama_and_clint.html

[illinoisprogressive]

1. I read that Clinton may have hit peak

and will struggle. I do hope so. I think she should stay in the senate as she is not liked on the left let alone the right.
anyone wanting to know about Obama's foreign policy thinking there is a good article in the NY sun today.

[Clarkie1]

5. My intuition does tells me it's downhill for Clinton from here...

actually I do belive the downhill has already started for her, and she's on the ohter side of the mountain.

Obama's foreign policy views are also nicely outlined in his new book. He philosophy is broadly one of liberal engagement, and is in line with the thinking, broadly speaking, of most Democratic leaders.

[jefferson_dem]

18. Thanks. Here's a link -->

Obama Shapes an Agenda Beyond Iraq War
BY JOSH GERSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
December 26, 2006
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/45694

Senator Obama's early opposition to the war in Iraq is the best known of his views, but voters taking his measure as a potential president will discover that he is a leader in securing stray weapons from the former Soviet Union, a key backer of American aid to the Congo, and that he would tend to support a missile strike on Iran if other methods fail to get Tehran to abandon its nuclear program.

In most respects, the Illinois Democrat's positions on foreign affairs are more fleshed out than one might expect for a leader concluding his second year in the Senate, though they lack the breadth and detail set forth by some of his colleagues who have spent decades in the public eye.

When he took office in 2005,Mr. Obama became the most junior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. However, the issues section of his Senate Web site, which lists his views on crime and aid to senior citizens, gives few details of his thoughts on America's role abroad.

Mr. Obama's foreign policy positions, gleaned from his speeches and writings, are squarely in the Democratic Party mainstream, though he often goes out of his way to distance himself from some on the left who downplay the dangers facing America. His statements and associations in foreign policy circles also suggest he might, as president, be more willing to use force to intervene in humanitarian crises than other presidents have. It seems certain he would make promotion of human rights a more serious factor in American diplomacy. He would also be likely to impose stricter rules on CIA interrogators — rules that some argue could hamper intelligence gathering and ultimately cost American lives.

<SNIP>

http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=45694

[Trajan]

2. I am concerned about Hill's 'likeability' .....

She is battle scarred, and a bit worse for the wear in the overall public eye ...

Obama has yet to be taken seriously, and has yet to be beaten to a bloody pulp .... How will he take it ? .... Will he stand up and brush it off ? ... Will there be anything left once they are done with him ?

[brentspeak]

10. Obama has yet to even reach the halfway point in his Senate term

He was elected to the Senate in 2004, and already he thinks he's Presidential material.

[Trajan]

15. Well .... from an oratorical standpoint, he just might be ...

outstanding speakers say outstanding things, and Obama IS an outstanding speaker with clear, lucid statements .... People loved JFK for the same traits ....

But he is a bit early in his career .... Im not sure IF he has enough life experience yet ....

IF he is nominated, I WILL fight for him .... but thats quite an IF right now ...

[SaveElmer]

16. There was a one term Congressman...

With three terms in the state legislature under his belt that thought he was Presidential material...from Illinois too...

Turned out he was correct!!!

[bullimiami]

3. doesnt it seem odd that there are so many polls with so varied conclusions?

[Kagemusha]

4. Two years out, no, it shouldn't seem odd

Few things are set in stone at this point.

[wisteria]

6. Polls are meaningless at this point in time. n/t

[brentspeak]

7. Apparently, the mass media has already decided the Democratic nominee: Obama or Hillary

I think the people are intelligent enough to make their own decision -- probably Gore, Edwards, or Clark.

[karynnj]

9. But don't worry - the MSM also has ADD

and may well like some one new in a year.

[MrModerate]

8. She has not yet begun to fight . . .

While I'm not one who's thrilled with Hill', I do credit her with one of the most highly focused political minds around, closely associated with one of the world's best pure politicians in a generation or more, and tons and tons of money.

I think the matchups cited above are meaningless. And while I might hope for someone else, I'm pretty sure Clinton is our next prez.

[renie408]

11. Daily Kos: USA Today/Gallup Poll Shows Every One Down Except Lieberman!

http://www.dailykos.net/archives/004020.html

This was two years before the last election. It is now a little less than two years to the next election.

Things change.

[SaveElmer]

12. You should mention this is a New Hampshire only poll...

Not nationwide...

[SaveElmer]

13. Funny you would duplicate a thread you had already commented on...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3028645&mesg_id=3028645

[TheMadMonk]

14. A rising Obama is, I suspect, the best choice for getting repukes...

... to go down in flames. If he can be made to look threatening in the polls, at least a couple of idiotic repukes will attempt to play the race card. With the right sort of questions and prodding it might even be possible to goad one or two of them into uttering the 'N' word in a public forum.

[illinoisprogressive]

17. Hillary is yesterday

and after all these years we are kinda tired of her.
If she does manage to win, Canada may be a nice place to go....

[PresidentObama]

19. Obama is making a lot of noise.

And the media is finally talking about another Democratic candidate besides Hillary, but think about how fast this ALL changed.

And imagine we have a year till this all will matter. Things can, and will change. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama could be at the bottom of the pack six months from now, you just never know. I seriously doubt they will, but unpredictability is the key. Especially this early on!

Once Edwards enters. Then Kerry. And maybe even Gore, things will get really interesting! And really fast!

[illinoisprogressive]

20. If Gore gets in

It's all over for anyone else. I had hoped he would be realized this fall he was not going to enter. But, if I am wrong and he does get in, no one stands a chance.

[elperromagico]

23. Kerry started off as the frontrunner four years ago... then he sunk...

then he clawed his way back up. I thought for certain as late as December '03 that Dean was a shoo-in for the nomination. You're right; things change.

Democratic presidential primaries are very volatile. Republicans seem to get behind a frontrunner early and stick with him; there are very rarely the kinds of upsets that we see in competitive Dem primaries.

If you look at the frontrunners in past Dem primaries, you see how things change.

[BenDavid]

21. Excuse me, but what is this

horseshit. What, you all pick the polls that show Hillary losing and nevr reconize the polls that show her winning over any right winger. Hell, it has only been a week since the Newsweek poll was out. Oh you all know the one that had the picture of Obama and Hillary on the cover, but did not include the poll that showed her beating him head to head and also did not list the poll in the article that showed Hillary beating any right winger....Come on folks. Let's not get too high on these early polls when neither Obama or Hillary has made any formal announcements....And if you trust any poll coming from Daily Kos then I pray for ya....or believe anything that A. Huffington writes about Hillary...

[elperromagico]

22. I want to see what Obama can do when it gets down to the nitty-gritty.

Right now, he's something of an enigma, albeit an appealing one - looks good, speaks well, has a strong backstory.

I've not really seen what Obama can do in a real campaign. Hillary and John Edwards aren't exactly Alan Keyes, after all.

[zulchzulu]

24. A lot has to happen before the primary season begins...

Polls at this time are like crack. Or like predicting the World Series winner in 2009.

A year is infinity politically. That's when the primary season begins to start.