How badly will the Democrats screw themselves if they nominate Hillary Clinton for President? Well, recent poll numbers should be a clear wakeup call to choose somebody, anybody, but the ex-First Lady... before it's too late (i.e. today, if possible.)
Real Clear Politics has Senator McCain leading by four points in an average of several recent national polls. Now is actually the time when these are worth reading-- unlike for the last year, when all anyone wanted to talk about was "Black Man vs. White Woman" and John Edwards was actually leading in Iowa, the only state where polling mattered. It's inarguable that the Democrats in Congress will continue to slip in the public standing and the tidal wave that was 2006 will only recede to reveal, once again, a sharply divided electorate. McCain's four-point lead, while basically nominal, is emblematic of the trend reversal to come.
It's also worth noting that John McCain has often received the highest national approval ratings of any politician in the country, and may be doing even better now that his profile has been raised again. On the other hand, they have faced off once before, with Hillary reportedly the upset victor: in a battle-to-the-death vodka-drinking contest in Estonia.
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