Poll: Years as first lady propelling Clinton ahead: Support increases; leads Obama, GOP hopefuls

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Years as first lady propelling Clinton ahead, poll shows
More voters show support for the Democratic presidential candidate, who has a lead on Obama and all four of the high-profile GOP hopefuls.
By Peter Wallsten and Janet Hook, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
October 23, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has neutralized the political fallout from some of the most difficult moments of her eight years as first lady, with Democratic voters looking favorably on her failed effort to revamp healthcare and either supporting or having no opinion of her decision to remain loyal to an unfaithful husband, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows.

The positive impression of Clinton's White House years -- which is shared, though more faintly, among the broader public -- is helping propel her to a formidable lead over her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton leads the No. 2 contender, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, 48% to 17%. Her support has risen 15 percentage points since the last nationwide Times/Bloomberg poll in June, while Obama's support has fallen 5 percentage points.

As a leading actor in her husband's presidency, Clinton entered the race for the White House linked tightly to his legacy of personal scandal and political polarization. But today, the Times/Bloomberg poll found, nearly two-thirds of Democrats and nearly half of all voters say Hillary Clinton's famously unsuccessful effort in the 1990s to provide health coverage for all Americans makes her better able now to deal with healthcare as president....At the same time, the former first lady remains a polarizing figure -- viewed unfavorably by 44% of respondents. But a favorable rating of 48% is relatively high for Clinton....

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Though the party nominations will be decided on a state-by-state basis, the national findings shed light on the early strength of Clinton and her fellow Democrats in the race for the White House.

Among all registered voters, the New York senator wins hypothetical head-to-head matchups against each of the four most high-profile Republican candidates. For example, Clinton tops Giuliani 47% to 41%, on the edge of the poll's margin of error. She beats the other GOP candidates by larger margins in the hypothetical contests. Obama also beats all four top Republicans in hypothetical matchups, though his three-point margin over Giuliani is within the poll's error margin....

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-poll24oct24,0,2039684.story?coll=la-home-center