CBS Poll: Majority Of Dems Back Clinton

Former First Lady Is Clear Front-Runner, But Significant Obstacles Remain

(CBS)  Sen. Hillary Clinton has widened her lead in the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, according to the latest CBS News poll of Democratic primary voters. But more than one third of voters overall say they would definitely not vote for the former first lady.

In a hypothetical three-way contest, 51 percent of Democratic primary voters choose Clinton as the nominee. That's the highest percentage since CBS News started asking the question in the spring and an increase of seven points from September. Twenty-three percent back Sen. Barack Obama, while 13 percent support former Sen. John Edwards.

Sixty-four percent of Clinton's supporters say they "strongly favor" the former first lady, while 26 percent say they support her with reservations. Obama is strongly favored by 47 percent of his supporters, while 43 percent support the candidate with reservations.

If Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, more than 70 percent of Democrats say they will consider voting for her or definitely vote for her for president. Only 6 percent of Democrats say they would not vote for her.

But among registered voters overall, 36 percent say they would definitely not vote for Clinton. Twenty-four percent would definitely vote for her, 21 percent would consider voting for her, and 19 percent say it’s too early to say.

Forty-six percent of registered voters believe that if Clinton is elected, she will divide Americans. Forty percent say she will bring Americans together.

Though Clinton is a practicing Methodist, three out of four registered voters do not think she has strong religious beliefs. Even a majority of Democratic primary voters - 63 percent - say her religious beliefs are not strong. Obama and Edwards are thought to be more religious than Clinton, though none of the three is thought to have strong religious beliefs by a majority of those surveyed.

Clinton is viewed favorably by 43 percent of all voters, while Obama is viewed favorably by 38 percent and Edwards by 30 percent. Significantly more Americans say they are undecided or don't know enough to have an opinion about Obama (37 percent) and Edwards (39 percent) than say the same about Clinton (16 percent).

When former Vice President Al Gore, who has not entered the race, is added as a choice for the Democratic nomination, he emerges as a serious contender. Gore garners support of 32 percent of Democratic primary voters, while Clinton gets 37 percent, Obama 16 percent, and Edwards 7 percent. Gore is viewed favorably by 46 percent of registered voters, his highest favorability rating since October, 2000.


Read the complete poll results here.

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This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1282 adults nationwide, including 1143 registered voters, interviewed by telephone October 12-16, 2007. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample, and the sample of registered voters, could be plus or minus three percentage points. 456 interviews were conducted with Democratic primary voters. The margin of error for this subgroup is plus or minus five percentage points.

[okinup]

If Hillary wins I''m gonna go live in a treehouse in Wisconsin with just my ipod and a can of pickles.

[katg21]

WHY!!!

[usaprophet]

Unlike Hitlery and most of the other GOP candidates, Ron Paul actually served his country as a member of the military. Paul grew up in the western Pennsylvania town of Green Tree. His father, the son of a German immigrant, ran a small dairy company. Sports were big around there and Paul was a terrific athlete, winning a state track meet in the 220 and excelling at football and baseball. After medical school at Duke, Paul joined the Air Force, where he served as a flight surgeon, tending to the ear, nose and throat ailments of pilots, and traveling to Iran, Ethiopia and elsewhere. "I recall doing a lot of physicals on Army warrant officers who wanted to become helicopter pilots and go to Vietnam," he said. "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Paul is given to mulling things over morally. His family was pious and Lutheran; two of his brothers became ministers. Paul''s children were baptized in the Episcopal church, but now he attends a Baptist one. He''s been married to the same woman for 50 years. As a young man, though, he did not protest the Vietnam War, which he now calls "totally unnecessary and illegal." Much later, after the United States invaded Iraq, he began reading St. Augustine. "I was annoyed by the evangelicals'' being so supportive of pre-emptive war, which seems to contradict everything that I was taught as a Christian," he recalls. "The religion is based on somebody who''s referred to as the Prince of Peace."

[royalstar23]

If Hillary wins my party''s nomination, I for the first time in my life, will NOT vote for President. She has moved to far to the right!!!!!

[rowdytexan2]

That''s bull....Hillary said she was for ''sensible'' gun control. She never said take guns away from anybody. You people need to read up!

[sendreidpelo]

iceboy is a clown who will always bring up his friends Mark Foley and Larry Craig - but heaven help you if you point at the MoveOn.Org''s party of Perverts - including Brenda, oops, Barney, the late, unlamented child molester Geraldine Studds, and who can forget Jane McGreevey - who scroooooed his unsuspecting wife too many times - and not in the right way.

Or Fat Jack Goldberg and Mark Leno out in California -who constantly try to push a Pervert agenda down the throat of the voters in that state - Leno unabashedly wanted to let child predators off the hook - that is, end police survelliance.

All from the MoveOn.Org Party, formerly the Democrats - all cowards, all liars, all racists, all bigots, all traitors - and all perverts all the time.

[sendreidpelo]

Ron Paul is a joke - he''s like the moveon.org party formerly known as the Democrats. In fact he probably would be happier there, along with that weasel Jimmy Webb...who ironically votes GOP on ILLEGAL Alien issues and supported Petraeus - I''m sure that chapped Prunefaced Cowardly Reid''s hide.

I was listening to Dennis Prager yesterday. Prager''s a former Lib who got wise, I guess you might call him a Neo-Conservative since unlike the stooges currently running the MoveOn.Org Party he didn''t buy the Stalinist and then the Islamofascist line.

He hit it on the nail when he said that those who are screaming "Fascist", calling Bush another Hitler, and ranting Sieg Heil are usually the Nazis themselves. Namely those who hate Jews and love Hamas, Blame America for the world''s woes, say we committed an act of "aggression" going into Iraq, and could care less about the moral decay we face.

Sounds like the Left Nazis who regularly post here - the Clinton or Obama supporters who with almost no exceptions like to blame the Jews.

I am quite sure that the monkeys and hyenas (an unwashed, brainless insult to those animals) will be spewing and vomiting quite soon. But enjoy the truth, Hitler lovers - that''s you who blame Bush and the Jews, and wish to appease Islamohitlerites - like yourself.

[usaprophet]

Unlike the so-called GOP frontrunner, Guliani, Dr. Paul fights for the right of an innocent, unborn child. He believes the right to life is at the heart of the American ideals of liberty. His professional and legislative record demonstrates his strong commitment to this pro-life principle. In 40 years of medical practice, he never once considered performing an abortion, nor did he ever find abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman. In Congress, he authored legislation that seeks to define life as beginning at conception (HR 1094). He is also the prime sponsor of HR 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v Wade by removing the ability of federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life. This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn. He also authored HR 1095, which prevents federal funds to be used for population control. Many other GOP candidates, except Guliani, talk about being pro-life. Ron Paul took direct action to restore protection for the unborn. As an OB/GYN doctor, he delivered over 4,000 babies. That experience made him an unshakable foe of abortion. Many of you may have his book, Challenge To Liberty, which champions the idea that there cannot be liberty in a society unless the rights of all innocents are protected. Ron Paul respects the dignity of human life.

[tcoleman12]

So, how many of these campaign donors are going to be in her cabinet, Starleo? Of course she will have to pardon some of them first. Looks like the ChiComs are buying a presidency...
Oh, and don''t forget Sandy Berger. Gotta have him there so he can "clean the slate" for you later.

[usaprophet]

Become part of this 21st Century political revolution and vote for Ron Paul. Get off your couch, put your remote control down, and become active in our nation''s political process. The Neocons, the Socialists and every other special interest group in this country are certainly involved. Therein lies the problem. Instead of being a government of and by the people, as The Founders intended, ours is a government by and for the corporations, political action committees, non-governmental organizations, labor unions, and a plethera of other special interest groups which are permitted to make unlimited campaign contributions, and thereby gain under influence over their political ******. Your average voter knows no such influence. In Congress, Paul is generally admired for his resistance to such influence, and for his lack of ego. They don''t call him Dr. No for no reason. He consistanly votes against pork-barrel spending. In a rice-growing, cattle-ranching district, Paul consistently votes against farm subsidies. In the very district where, on the night of Sept. 8, 1900, a storm destroyed the city of Galveston, leaving 6,000 dead, and where repairs from Hurricane Rita and refugees from Hurricane Katrina continue to exact a toll, he votes against FEMA and flood aid. In a district that is home to many employees of the Johnson Space Center, he votes against financing NASA. That''s a man with Presidential-like integrity and principles. Ron Paul has my vote.

[s1ckd09]

To this day, GOP shills repeat the lie that "Barney Frank was running a prostitution ring out of his apartment," when in fact Frank had no knowledge of it, and when he found out about it, he fired the guy who was running it, and notified the House Ethics Committee.


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Posted by Iceman_1960 at 10:18 AM : Oct 26, 2007

In late 1985, Gobie says, he began to use Frank''s apartment and two other locations for prostitution. Frank knew about the prostitution all along, but it was never explicitly discussed, Gobie says.

"He knew exactly what I was doing," Gobie said. "It was pretty obvious. If he had to come home early {from work}, he would call home to be sure the coast was clear . . . . He was living vicariously through me. He said it was kind of a thrill, and if he had been 20 years younger he might be doing the same thing."

[usaprophet]

Like Ron Paul, I share our Founders'' belief that in a free society each citizen must have the right to keep and bear arms. They ratified the Second Amendment knowing that this right is the guardian of every other right, and they all would be horrified by the proliferation of unconstitutional legislation that prevents law-abiding Americans from exercising this right. Congressman, Paul has always supported the Second Amendment and these are some of the bills he introduced in the current Congress to help restore respect for it: H.R. 1096 includes provisions repealing the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and the Federal Firearms License Reform Act of 1993, two invasive and unconstitutional bills. H.R. 1897 would end the ban on carrying a firearm in the National Park System, restoring Americans'' ability to protect themselves in potentially hazardous situations. H.R. 3305 would allow pilots and specially assigned law enforcement personnel to carry firearms in order to protect airline passengers, possibly preventing future 9/11-style attacks. H.R. 1146 would end our membership in the United Nations, protecting us from their attempts to tax our guns or disarm us entirely. In the past, he introduced legislation to repeal the so-called assault weapons ban before its 2004 sunset, and he has opposed all attempts to reinstate it. Congessman, Paul also recently opposed H.R. 2640, which would allow government-appointed psychiatrists to ban U.S. veterans experiencing even mild forms of PTSD.

[rowdytexan2]

thefarrier, I have listened a lot to Ron Paul...and he does have some terrific ideas...some really too loose canonish...

But his own party would have him assasinated within a week of taking office...much less let him have the nomination in the first place.

HIS OWN PARTY IS HIS WORSTT ***!!! I mean ENEMY!!!

[usaprophet]

I agree with Dr. Paul about the issue of illegal immigration. The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked. Ron Paul has a plan: (1.) Physically secure our borders and coastlines. We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals. (2.) Enforce visa rules. Immigration officials must track visa holders and deport anyone who overstays their visa or otherwise violates U.S. law. This is especially important when we recall that a number of 9/11 terrorists had expired visas. (3.) No amnesty. Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That''s a lot of people to reward for breaking our laws. (4.) No welfare for illegal aliens. Americans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules, but taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services. (5.) End birthright citizenship. As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incentive to enter the U.S. illegally will remain strong. (6.) Pass true immigration reform. The current system, and those proposed by ALL other candidates, is incoherent and unfair, and would allow up to 60 million more immigrants into our country.

[usaprophet]

I support Ron Paul and his non-interventionist foreign policy. Hitlery wants to continue our illegal police action in Iraq until at least 2013, and she does not rule out a preemptive (nuclear) first strike against Iran. Ron Paul voted against the the The war in Iraq, which was sold to us with lies. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies, the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them. This war has cost more than 3,000 American lives and almost a trillion dollars. We must have new leadership in the White House to ensure this never happens again. Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have 750 foreign bases and troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America. And now, there are new calls for a draft of our young men and women. We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing our borders against illegal immaigrants and bring the troops home. No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution. Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations. Too often, we give foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised. Then, we become despised.

[starleo146]

I would like to ask this question, I think with Hillary''s and Bill Clinton''s knowledge of the best people in this USA she has the best chance of picking a cabinet that will enhance her abilities as president and depending who she picks as vice president we only have to wait and see how it all goes.

[starleo146]

congradulations starleo146, you have graduated to be a far left liberal nut case, instead of the ''''independent'''' you CLAIM at one time to be.

Posted by speakinup at 03:47 PM : Oct 26, 2007

When you can begin to read anything on this forum, then you can judge, until then take a course in comprehension, please, Mr. know everything that knows nothing.

[speakinup]

congradulations starleo146, you have graduated to be a far left liberal nut case, instead of the ''independent'' you CLAIM at one time to be.

[forthepeopl1]

(AP) Yemen has set free one of the al Qaeda masterminds of the USS Cole bombing in 2000 that killed 17 American sailors, a senior security official said Thursday.

Jamal al-Badawi, who is wanted by the FBI, was convicted in 2004 of plotting, preparing and helping carry out the USS Cole bombing and received a death sentence that was commuted to 15 years in prison.

He and 22 others, mostly al Qaeda fighters, escaped from prison in 2004. But al-Badawi was granted his freedom after turning himself in 15 days ago and pledging loyalty to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The official said police were told by the government to "stop all previous orders concerning measures adopted against al-Badawi."

Witnesses told The Associated Press that al-Badawi was receiving well-wishers at his home in the al-Buraika district in Aden.

The Interior Ministry said earlier that al-Badawi voluntarily gave himself up to police, but media reports said tribal chiefs mediated his surrender after he renounced terrorism and pledged allegiance to the Yemeni leader.

[signof4]

and the surge is working.
Posted by realpatriot1 at 12:46 PM : Oct 26, 2007

The surge appears to be working. No American deaths in about two weeks.....haven''t seen that since 2003. Can''t give credit to Bush or the military, though....we can''t hand Bush any kudos....that would go against the lib agenda.