Message To Hillary: Watch Your Back Girlfriend!
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are essentially tied for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the first time that the New York senator hasn't clearly led the field.
According to those we surveyed here at Three Brothers, these results are consistent with our own findings.
When asked whether Barack Obama can win, 38% indicated that he would get their vote regardless of if he won or not. An additional 11% said he will definitely win the Democratic nomination. The news, however, was not all good. 33% of those polled felt the best the Illinois bi-racial senator could hope for would be joining the ticket as Clinton's running mate, with 16% percent indicating that he doesn't have a chance in hell to pull this historic feat off.
No other major national poll has shown the Democratic race so close. An ABC News/Washington Post poll taken last Tuesday through Friday gave Clinton a 12-point lead. Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist, calls the USA TODAY poll "an outlier" that is "completely out of sync" with other surveys. He says it is "seriously flawed" for including so many independents unlikely to vote in Democratic primaries.
The freshman lawmaker bests Clinton by a single percentage point, 30%-29%, if the contest includes former vice president Al Gore. Clinton bests Obama by a single point, 37%-36%, if it doesn't include Gore.The survey of 310 Democrats and 160 independents who "lean" Democratic, taken Friday through Sunday, has a margin of error of +/- 5 percentage points. The Illinois senator bests Clinton by a single percentage point, 30%-29%, if the contest includes former vice president Al Gore. Clinton bests Obama by a single point, 37%-36%, if it doesn't include Gore.The survey of 310 Democrats and 160 independents who "lean" Democratic, taken Friday through Sunday, has a margin of error of +/- 5 percentage points.
Among Democrats alone, Clinton leads Obama by 5 points, 34%-29%. That's a significant narrowing from the USA TODAY poll taken in mid-May, when she led by 17 points. Among independents, Obama leads by 9 points, 31%-22%.
(USA Today)/Web Editor: Michael King