Diatribune

According to the latest NBC/WSJ poll Senator Hillary Clinton (Dem-NY) and former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani are widening their leads in the race to represent their respective parties in the 2008 presidential elections. The poll, taken of 1005 adults from July 27-30, has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 points. Both leads are substantially outside the margin or error. From MSNBC: 

In the Democratic contest, Clinton, D-N.Y., leads Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., 43-22 percent, with former vice presidential nominee John Edwards coming in third at 13 percent. No other Democrat gets more than 6 percent in the poll. Clinton's 21-point edge over Obama is a jump from her five-point lead in April (36-31 percent) and her 14-point advantage in June (39-25 percent). “Hillary has extended her lead,” said Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart.

 And

In the Republican presidential contest, meanwhile, Giuliani leads former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., 33-20 percent — with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in third at 17 percent and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in fourth at 11 percent.  Giuliani’s 13-point advantage over Thompson, who has not yet announced his candidacy, is an increase from June, when the former New York mayor had a 29-20 percent lead. “The GOP primary continues to float in suspended animation,” Hart says. “One doesn’t get the sense that much is happening.”

The poll also shows that if the election were held today voters prefer Senator Clinton or Senator Obama over Giuliani. Senator Clinton leads Giuliani 47-41 while Obama leads 45-40. It wasn't all good news for Senator Clinton however, as she still polls high negatives. In the latest poll 44 percent view her positively while 39 percent see fer in a negative light. This is a slight improvement from June when she was rated 42-42. Senator Obama is currently seen favorably by 42 percent while only 22 percent hold a negative view of him. As I have pointed out before it is still too early to put a great deal of stock in these numbers, especially given that Senator Obama raised more money in the last quarter and showed a broader base of support among contributors. As in previous polls former Senator Edwards still isn't getting any movement in his direction as he remains a distant third in this poll. But it is still a three horse race on the democratic side at least through Iowa where Edwards continues to lead in straw polls.

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