Well, according to this poll -- but is it relevant?

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) kicks off his general-election campaign trailing both potential Democratic nominees in hypothetical matchups, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) leads McCain, who captured the delegates needed to claim the Republican nomination Tuesday night, by 12 percentage points among all adults in the poll; Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) holds a six-point lead over the GOP nominee. Both Democrats are buoyed by moderates and independents when going head to head with McCain and benefit from sustained negative public assessments of President Bush and the war in Iraq.

The problem with this poll? First, it is eight months before the election. A lot can happen in that time, and will certainly include plenty of in-fighting among Democrats in this bitter race. Expect some of their supporters to peel away as that continues. Second, there will be the nomination of VP candidates, which can also blunt concerns about McCain's age while possibly exacerbating the Clinton/Obama split among Democrats. And then there is simply the tightening of the race that is inevitable as we see both sides get more balanced amounts of press coverage. So while i don't like these numbers, they don't necessarily frighten me.

Posted by: Greg at 11:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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