Newsweek Poll Has Hillary Clinton in Squeakers

Surprisingly when voters are asked who among the Democratic candidates they prefer, 43% say they want Hillary Clinton, yet when asked which they would vote for in the General election, Hillary’s numbers are 49% no matter who she is put against, whether it is Rudy, Mitt, or Fred.

Hillary polls at just 49% against all three Republican candidates. She beats them all but isn’t it odd that her opponents’ numbers are also identical at 45%. Maybe it isn’t so odd. Maybe it just tells you what has been in the news for awhile: 50% of Americans will vote for Anyone But Hillary.

It’s Hillary Clinton 49% vs. Anyone But Hillary 45%

Compare that to Barack Obama vs. Rudy, Mitt and Fred. Against Rudy, Barack gets 48% of the vote to Rudy’s 45% (nearly the same as Hillary), but scores higher than Hillary against Mitt (53% to 37%) and Fred (52% to 39%).

Compare that to John Edwards vs. Rudy, Mitt and Fred. Against Rudy, Edwards gets 48% of the vote to Rudy’s 45% (the same as Barack), but scores higher than Hillary against Mitt (53% to 37% - same as Barack) and Fred (53% to 39% - the best margin of the three candidates).

The margin of error on the Newsweek poll is + 4% so that makes Hillary’s contests virtual toss ups. The same is true for either Edwards or Obama vs. Giuliani, but in races where Obama or Edwards are pitted against Romney or Thompson, Either Obama or Edwards is the clear winner.

I doubt, at this point, that any of these numbers will help to sway a Hillary supporter to maybe opt for the candidate who is currently stronger in the polls against a Republican than she is, it just doesn’t work that way.

I just wish it would.