My original comment was really about those pundits who say Rudy is not nominatable or that Hillary's candidacy is doomed.

Favorable ratings don't necessarily track to votes or polls, but they are probably as positive measure as you can do this far out. There are no real surprises here. Hillary and Gore are both well known by the GOP and intensely disliked. While they have a net positive among independents, they have a pretty anemic net positive. The only thing that surprises me is how much lower Gore is held by democrats compared to Hillary.

Obama is a tabla rosa that people are projecting on. This worked for Carter in 76, but he didn't come to the front until New Hampshire. I suspect Obama is going to have a hard time lasting. Carter waned over the campaign and came within a few thousand votes of losing to Ford.

In a way, the own party net positive is only indicative of the primary, not the general election. Both parties are likely to come home for anyone on those lists. The swing is in the middle and to the extent you can poach from the other side. Fortunately for the GOP, their candidates look to be in the best shape to do both of these things.

But 70% is pretty high-especially compared to those of the other GOP possibles.

I think though, in general it is too soon to tell either way-especially since the GOP candidates aren't going at it too much (or when they are the media isn't slobbering over themselves to cover it).

Obama and Hillary already seem to be taking shots at each other, especially the Hillary camp, who I think is legitimately worried about Obama.

How much do you think the two primaries are going to play off themselves? It's not like one side picks first. The structure of the republican nominating process tends toward getting a decision sooner, but I'm not sure there would really be enough time for the democrat's process to react.

Gallup’s Lydia Saad reports that Rudy Giuliani is the only candidate running for president this cycle that has broad support among “their political base, political independents, and even members of the opposing party.” (James Joyner @ Outside The...

With as much fervor some democrats place on Obama, I'm still not convinced he will get the party nod. Clinton has the largest war chest, but she's too much of a lightning rod on both sides.

My suspicion is that if Guiliani gets the Republican nod, the Democrats will go with someone like Edwards. Southern, young, and "populist" (note the quotes).

And with a 77 point net favorable in her party, Hillary can't win in the democratic primaries.

Ah the conventional wisdom of the chattering class.