A poll published yesterday established Hillary Clinton as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, 25 hours after she declared her intention to seek to become the first woman to take the office. An ABC-Washington Post poll gave her 41 percent support among Democrats or Democrat-leaning voters, with the party's fast-rising star Barack Obama, who declared last week, on only 17 percent.
John Edwards, who is fighting on an anti-poverty and strong anti- war ticket, is in third place with 11 percent and Al Gore, the former vice-president who continues to insist he will not stand, is on 10 percent
Senator Clinton ended years of speculation on Saturday with a video announcement that she was setting up an exploratory committee, the first step to formally declaring her intention to join the race.
Although the ABC-Washington Post poll inserts a note of caution into the media frenzy over the charismatic Senator Obama, who would be the first black president, the nomination campaign still has 18 volatile months to run. Mrs Clinton's lead is much smaller, and she is even in second-place, in recent polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, two of the early states hosting Democratic primaries next January.
Mrs Clinton, who said on her video "I'm in and I'm in to win," is to visit Iowa and New Hampshire next weekend. Today, tomorrow and Wednesday she is to try to counter her image as distant by engaging in a series of internet chats.
A Newsweek poll published yesterday showed public support continuing to move towards the Democrats after their mid-term Congressional victory two months ago. Asked how they would vote in a presidential election, 49 percent said Democrat and 28 percent Republican.
The same poll suggested that opposition to Mr Bush's Iraq policy continues to grow, with 70 percent expressing disapproval with the president's handling of the war. Tomorrow Mr. Bush will try to win over the US public with his annual State of the Union speech setting out plans for domestic and foreign policy.
The already crowded and diverse field of candidates for the democrat nomination grew again yesterday when Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, also announced his intention to seek to become the first Hispanic president.
He said: "Our reputation in the world is diminished, our economy has languished, and civility and common decency in government has perished after six years of president George Bush."
A plus for Mrs. Clinton in the ABC-Washington Post poll was that she enjoyed greater support among women (49 percent) than men (30 percent). She had a 76 percent favorable rating even among Democrats opposed to the Iraq war, the issue on which she is perceived to be vulnerable. She voted in the Senate for the invasion in 2002, but is now shifting to an anti-war position.
But a sign that Mr. Obama is still building up momentum came with the disclosure yesterday that the billionaire philanthropist George Soros is backing him, and celebrities such as the filmmaker Steven Spielberg are planning a fundraising event for him.
The announcement by both to set up committees to explore support for a presidential run allows them formally to begin seeking funds. Mrs. Clinton has already raised US$14 million for her run.
The Republican field is expanding too. Sam Brownback, the Republican senator, announced his candidature on Saturday. The son of a rural Kansas farmer who has become a leader among religious conservatives in Congress, he said he had decided "to take the first steps on the yellow brick road to the White House."
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