CLINTON
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters):
Senator Hillary Clinton holds a large early lead over other top candidates in the race for the Democratic United States presidential nomination,
a national poll yesterday's Washington Post indicated.
New York's Clinton was the favourite of 41 per cent of Democrats polled, more than double the 17-per cent, second-place rating scored by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the Post said.
John Edwards, the 2004 vice-presidential nominee, placed third at 11 per cent, with former Vice-President Al Gore at 10 per cent. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 presidential nominee, came in at eight per cent.
The poll was taken before Clinton announced her candidacy on Saturday. Obama entered the race last Tuesday and Edwards jumped in last month.
The Washington Post-ABC News poll was a January 16-19 random sample of 1,000 adults, including 561 Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents, with a three percentage point error margin.
Gingrich, Richardson in
While Clinton is the favourite right now, the party is a "lifetime" away from making its 2008 choice, Sen. Joe Biden, one of her White House rivals, said yesterday.
"I think she's incredibly formidable and has got to be the front-runner and the odds-on pick right now. But this is a marathon. There's a long way to go," he stated.
And in an about-face, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on 'Fox News Sunday' he would run for president in 2008 as a "last resort" .
Gingrich said he first hoped to influence the presidential race by providing candidates in both parties with his "solutions" to problems such as health care, energy, education, national security and immigration.
American voters have a chance to shatter social barriers in 2008, when either Obama or Clinton could snap the unbroken string of white men in the White House.
Gov. Bill Richardson, who has vast diplomatic experience for the U.S. at the United Nations, took the first step yesterday toward an expected White House run in 2008, as he seeks to become the first Hispanic president.
