POLL: Hillary 47 (-2), Obama 37 (+8)

[jefferson_dem]

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On the Democratic side, Clinton is still the top choice, although by a much closer margin today. The new poll shows 47 percent of Democrats back Clinton and 37 percent Barack Obama. Last month Clinton had a 29-point advantage — 49 percent to Obama’s 20 percent, with Edwards capturing 10 percent.

Clinton and Obama both essentially tie McCain in hypothetical head-to-head matchups. Among registered voters nationwide, the poll finds that 44 percent back Clinton and 45 percent McCain. Similarly, 44 percent prefer Obama, while 43 percent choose McCain. These results fall within the poll’s margin of sampling error.

Clinton (+14 points) and Obama (+18 points) each have a double-digit advantage over Republican Mitt Romney when tested in two-way matchups.

The national telephone poll was conducted for FOX News by Opinion Dynamics Corp. among 900 registered voters from January 30 to January 31. The poll has a 3-point error margin.

When asked to consider the two front-runners on each side, voters say Clinton (34 percent) is the most prepared to begin leading the country on "day one" of taking office, with McCain (31 percent) right on her heels, Obama third (17 percent) and Romney fourth (8 percent).

By a large margin, Clinton also comes out on top as most likely to "do anything — including something unethical — to win" the election. Some 44 percent think so, compared to 11 percent who think Romney would do anything to win, 9 percent McCain and 8 percent Obama. Nearly a third of voters were unsure (28 percent).

"These results suggest that Clinton still faces the challenge of shedding the image of a politician who puts electoral victory ahead of everything else. Ironically, this negative perception is partly due to her broader image as a competent, take-charge leader who can get things done on ‘day one.’ Her ultimate success may depend how skillfully she can "un-couple" these two aspects of her image," says Ernest Paicopolos, a principal of Opinion Dynamics.

Even so, equal numbers say they would most want to watch Clinton (25 percent) and Obama (25 percent) on television for the next four years, putting both of them ahead of their Republican rivals; 19 percent say they would most want to watch McCain and 12 percent Romney.

Nearly one of four (36 percent) think Obama is the "most positive" presidential hopeful, followed by Clinton at 22 percent, McCain at 18 percent and Romney at 11 percent.

Which candidate would embarrass the country? More than a third (37 percent) says Clinton is most likely to do something embarrassing; Romney comes in a distant second with 14 percent, McCain at 12 percent and Obama at 11 percent. Twenty-six percent are unsure.

Overall, by a 15-point margin, more voters think Clinton is the Democrat making unfair attacks rather than Obama; among Democrats, the two contenders are seen as about equal on this measure, as 37 percent think Clinton is making unfair attacks and 34 percent think Obama is.

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http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,327587,00.html

FULL RESULTS ---> http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/020108_election_release_web.pdf

[geiger]

1. This is a FOX News poll?

why do you even bother posting it

[jefferson_dem]

2. Because it's a poll ... perhaps.

You don't like the result, I gather.

Take it with however many grains of salt you like.

[UALRBSofL]

3. Rasmussen Poll is closest

!!!!!!