Poll shows
problems for Clinton, Giuliani if they seek presidency

Democratic senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is popular within her party but could have trouble winning the presidency, according to a poll that also identified potential hurdles within the GOP for former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. The former first lady held a double-digit lead over possible rivals in the survey released Thursday by Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion. Clinton, who has taken steps suggesting a 2008 bid, had the support of 33% of Democrats to 14% for former senator John Edwards. Former Vice President Al Gore was at 13% and Sen. Barack Obama 12%. Other Democrats were in single digits. Still, Clinton remains a polarizing figure, with 47% of registered voters saying they would definitely not consider voting for her. Twenty-five percent said they definitely would consider voting for her, while 28% said they would possibly consider it. Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona led the Republican field, with 24% favoring Giuliani and 23% backing McCain. Giuliani and McCain each led Clinton, 49% to 43%. But when Republicans were informed that Giuliani is "a pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-gay rights Republican," 47% said those traditionally liberal positions would be a major factor in determining how they voted, while just 22% said they would not be a factor. Conservative voters hold considerable sway in the Republican presidential primaries. "For Hillary, it is: She is acceptable to Democrats, but is she electable?" said Marist's Lee Miringoff. "For Rudy, he's electable; but is he acceptable to Republicans deciding the nomination?" The poll of 967 registered voters was conducted November 27-December 3 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. (Marc Humbert, AP)