Why Ron Paul matters to Democratic campaigns.

[BurningDog]

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_2008__1/2008_presidential_election/election_2008_clinton_42_giuliani_39_ron_paul_8

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found Hillary Clinton leading Rudy Giuliani by three percentage points in a four-way race that includes Ron Paul running as a Libertarian candidate and Ralph Nader representing the Green Party. The poll shows Clinton earning 42% of the vote while Giuliani attracts 39%. Ron Paul is the choice for 8%, Ralph Nader is preferred by 4% and 7% are not sure (see crosstabs).

...

Perhaps because of his position on the War in Iraq, Paul attracts more support from Democrats than Republicans. He also earns 14% of the vote from unaffiliated voters.

The notion of "I hope he runs 3rd party and splits the Republican vote and this election will be a cakewalk" is unfounded. Polls that list only a Democratic candidate going against a Republican are usually slanted heavily to the Democrat's side. In this poll listing third party candidates, Clinton vs Giuliani are within the margin of error.

[skipos]

1. Dems don't know that Paul sucks on everything but the war

If he is nominated, they will know.

This sort of poll is as useless as polling two unknowns, like Tancredo vs Dodd, and trying to get some sort of meaning out of it.