Boston Globe: Polls hint at Clinton surge, suggest controversies dogging Obama are having an impact

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Polls hint at Clinton surge

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor May 1, 2008 10:13 AM

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/05/polls_hint_at_c.html

A bevy of new national polls, plus surveys in Indiana and North Carolina -- which hold key primaries on Tuesday -- suggest that Hillary Clinton is closing the gap since her campaign-saving victory in Pennsylvania last week, and that the controversies dogging Barack Obama are having an impact.

In a national Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, Clinton leads Obama 44 percent to 41 percent. The Illinois senator is viewed unfavorably by 42 percent of all voters, up 9 percentage points since February. Clinton's unfavorable rating is still slightly higher than Obama's, but it has dropped slightly. And by 10 percentage points, Democrats now view Clinton as likelier than Obama to beat presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. Democrats gave Obama a 4-point edge last month.

In a national NBC/Wall Street Journal survey, Obama's lead has narrowed to 46 percent to 43 percent, and his unfavorable ratings have also risen. In March, 51 percent of voters viewed him positively and 28 percent saw him negatively, but in the new poll 46 percent view him favorably, but 37 percent negatively.

In a national New York Times/CBS poll, Obama leads 46 percent to 38 percent among Democrats, but 51 percent say they believe he will be the eventual nominee, down from 69 percent a month ago. And 48 percent of Democratic primary voters said they believe he would be the strongest candidate against McCain, down from 56 percent a month ago.

[high density]

1. Campaign-saving victory in PA?

Wow, I must've been sleeping when Clinton flipped all those pledged delegates over to her side.

The time to "close the gap" was February. It's history and she has lost.

[fascisthunter]

3. the spin is incredible

[Seen the light]

They're technically correct

It saved it for the moment. She would have been forced to drop out if she had lost it.

[John Q. Citizen]

23. No, the spin before was if she won by less than "double digits." She won by single digits,

but Oh well, who cares what we said last week.

And now NC and IN are "key " primary states?

Where have i heard that before?

Oh yeah. Now I remember. Since Clinton can't possibly win a majority of pledged delegates and thus lost the nomination, every state to vote since has been a "key" primary state.

Wisconsin was a "key" primary state as I recall. TX was a "key" primary state as well.

It's all a bunch of crapola.

[redqueen]

27. Yup... the spinning is just gonna get more and more obvious...

[fascisthunter]

2. It Doesn't Matter.... She Can't Win

But man o' man, she can smear him. I once defended both her and Bill Clinton against the right wing....

I think they do more for corporate fascism and the right wing then they even realize.

[Triana]

4. YAY! Clinton sufficently smeared Obama so that his poll numbers went down and so now SHES

more "ELECTABLE"! :sarcasm:

Hardly. She's nastier and that's about it. AND STILL LOSING.

[BenDavid]

5. As they should. Obama is slowing oozing and it will not stop and

I could care less if some supporter of hrc all of a sudden tells us he had some epiphany that somehow obama is more qualified then hrc. Bullshit. Somethig was offer. Something was accepted and this so called upstanding man decided to go with obama...bastards like this should wallow in their own feces. I digress......

the wright controversy should continue and the 527's should link obama more with wright. Robert kennedy said it best, if you see are hear bigotry or racism you are to take a stand then and stand up and make it known. Obama did not do this. For 16 years obama sat on his ass in that pew while wright spewed his bigotry and hatred and racism for whites, jews, israel as obama just sat there. how many people were influenced by wrights words? hell, maybe obama was influenced by his words. obama need not become the nominee of this party. I say hell no, NEVER AGAIN!

[Triana]

9. McSame just sits there while Hagee spews hatred and bigotry too - why does no one go after McCain?

RACISM eh?

Methinks thou doth projecteth too much.

[Mooney]

14. Your post is absolutely hysterical and you should probably take a Xanax.

You're foaming at the mouth with irrational hatred. Calm the fuck down.

[Triana]

16. For BenDavid

[gaiilonfong]

22. Triana you haver BenDavid pegged

right on...he needs to be banned, he has been postiung below the surface racist posts for months and NO one is calling him on it.

I know his type and their dog whistles to a tee. I have a family that talks exactly like him and I KNOW they are racists...he should be banned

[Mooney]

29. HA HA HA HA (etc)

[dionysus]

17. ask your doctor about THORAZINE, the wonder drug!!!

:rofl:

[gaiilonfong]

19. Ben David the RACIST at it again

Ben yiou show WHAT AND WHO you really are with every disgusting post

[jenmito]

21. You have serious problems with perception.

And even though Wright was wrong for dissing Obama, saying he gave his race speech for political reasons implying he didn't really mean it-"He's just doing what politicians do," Wright's position on many of his views are about EQUALITY-not hate/bigotry/racism. His sermon he gave, "Different not deficient" was all about how being different does NOT mean being "less than" someone else, black or white, straight or gay, etc. Unfortunately, he's paranoid about a couple things and was trying to sell books during his "performance" last weekend which turned people off-including Obama (and other members of the church who also said they didn't recognize him from the way he was behaving). But he's STILL more tolerant that you'll EVER be. Do you think he has such a huge following for nothing? That they're all racists? Everyone who goes to his church? Get real.

[myrna minx]

6. And yet 60% of the public views Clinton as dishonest.

:shrug:

[uponit7771]

7. NBC/WSJ Poll say Americans more interested in McSame-Bush than Obama-Wright, no 10 point swing...

...in Obama poll and some other polls have him up.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24390690

[Texas Hill Country]

8. k & r

[Buzz Clik]

10. Ebb and flow of daily polls.

The next meaningful polling exercise is Tuesday.

[Neshanic]

11. More unexpected surprises. Don't worry Super Delegate to the rescue!

[DemGa]

12. Obama is slipping all over the place -- NT

[Iceburg]

24. Worse, its hard to recover at this late stage. /nt

[John Q. Citizen]

26. Even worse, he will win a majority of all pledged delegates on May 20th. I really feel

for the guy.

And the supers just keep moving over to him as well.

It must be awful for him to be winning the nomination.

[Saturday]

13. Go Hillary! Recommended.

I think IN will turn out to be good for her!

[JKaiser]

15. GOOD!

[suston96]

18. Poor Boston Globe...Endorsed Obama...Kerry and Kennedy also endorsed Obama...

....But Hillary won Massachusetts in the primary....! That means all the super-delegates in Massachussets have to go to Clinton, eh.....?

Anyone watch Boston Legal last night?

[John Q. Citizen]

25. That was about pledged delegates, as I recall. The supers just keep going to Obama. Poor Hill,

she already lost and she doesn't even know it.

Obama will win a majority of all pledged delegates on May 20th.

Poor Hill. She won't

[suston96]

30. That was about there being no delegates "pledged" to do anything. They can do as they please.

[nichomachus]

20. So, the Hillary Rove attack has been successful

I imagine Karl and Hillary will have a good chuckle over this when they're at Aspen this winter.

[BootinUp]

28. People that already voted (wrongly) should be excluded

from voting in these polls. lol.