Race Fluid
I thought it was all along but armed with a new poll, NYT proclaims it so:
WASHINGTON — Republican voters have sharply altered their views of the party’s presidential candidates following the early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, with Senator John McCain, once widely written off, now viewed more favorably than any of his major competitors, according to the latest nationwide New York Times/CBS News Poll.
The findings underscored the extraordinary volatility in the Republican race and suggested that the party was continuing to search for a nominee to rally around. Nearly three-quarters of Republican primary voters said it was still too early for them to make up their minds “for sure,” meaning that they could shift their allegiances yet again if one or more of Mr. McCain’s rivals breaks through in the two Republican primaries this week, in Michigan and South Carolina.
On the Democratic side, Senator Barack Obama’s victory in Iowa has improved his standing within the party on a critical measure: his electability. The percentage of Democrats who say he would be the strongest candidate against the Republicans has more than doubled in a month, to 35 percent from 14 percent in December.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who won her party’s primary in New Hampshire, still has an edge on electability, a substantial advantage on experience — the central selling point of her campaign — and leads among Democrats nationally. But Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama are now viewed by Democrats as almost equally qualified on a variety of measures, including the ability to serve as commander in chief.
Which of course is not a particularly high bar.
Topics: pols
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 7:25 am Comments (4) on Monday, January 14, 2008
4 Responses to “Race Fluid”
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January 14th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Race Fluid
And here I thought you spoke (OK, OK typed) of a new type lubricant.
January 14th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I’d rather vote for Giuliani or Thompson, but I can live with McCain. Anybody but that yammering three-ring circus on the Democratic side.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I would just love for either party to come up with something beside the ubiquitous “electability,” which is something only a person who doesn’t give a damn about any of the many pressing issues we face.
I do wish the Republicans would get their … er … stuff together.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I have not made up my mind yet. But it won’t be Hillary that is for sure.