I think Hillary Clinton registers in the polls for the same reason Rice does: some people are embracing the idea of a woman president. In other words, I don't think this is about Hillary Clinton as a super candidate. My theory on the fundraising is that people give to her campaign because they see her (in large part because of Bill Clinton) as representative of the Democratic Party. So how many Democratic candidates is Hillary supporting?
Ipsos-Reid/Cook Political Report Poll. Nov. 4-6 & 18-20, 2003. N=527 likely Democratic presidential primary/caucus voters nationwide. MoE ± 4.4.
.
"It is early, but if you had to choose today, which ONE of the following nine candidates would you be most likely to support for the Democratic nomination for president? . . ."
3-Nov
%
Howard Dean 20%
Wesley Clark 16%
Richard Gephardt 14%
Joe Lieberman 12%
John Kerry 10%
John Edwards 5%
Dennis Kucinich 4%
Al Sharpton 3%
Carol Moseley Braun 3%
Hillary Rodham Clinton (vol.) 1
Other/None/Not sure 12%
Bob Graham n/a
3-Apr
%
Howard Dean 6%
Wesley Clark n/a
Richard Gephardt 14%
Joe Lieberman 14%
John Kerry 19%
John Edwards 10%
Dennis Kucinich n/a
Al Sharpton 4%
Carol Moseley Braun 4%
Hillary Rodham Clinton (vol.) 1%
Other/None/Not sure 22%
Bob Graham 6%
.
Asked of those who made a choice and did not volunteer Hillary Rodham Clinton: "If New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton decided to seek the Democratic nomination for president, would you continue to support or would you prefer to support Hillary Rodham Clinton?"
Asked of those who did not have an initial preference: "If New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton decided to seek the Democratic nomination for president, would she be your first choice for the nomination?"
Recalculated preference:
3-Nov
%
Hillary Rodham Clinton 41%
Howard Dean 11%
Wesley Clark 11%
Richard Gephardt 7%
John Kerry 6%
Joe Lieberman 6%
John Edwards 3%
Dennis Kucinich 3%
Al Sharpton 1%
Carol Moseley Braun -
Other/None/Not sure 11%
Bob Graham n/a
3-Apr
%
Hillary Rodham Clinton 41%
Howard Dean 3%
Wesley Clark n/a
Richard Gephardt 7%
John Kerry 13%
Joe Lieberman 6%
John Edwards 6%
Dennis Kucinich n/a
Al Sharpton 2%
Carol Moseley Braun 1%
Other/None/Not sure 17%
Bob Graham 4%
I could be wrong, but Hillary beating out the field of 2004 candidates? Not likely.