Hillary, oh Hillary

I said I'd post about the Democratic primaries and that polling data later. Didn't quite think it would take this long...

If the 2008 Democratic presidential primary were held today, whom would you support if the candidates are:

	May 2005	Feb. 2005
Hillary Rodham Clinton	40%	39%
John Kerry	18%	21%
John Edwards	16%	15%
Joseph Biden	7%	5%
Wesley Clark	4%	4%
Russ Feingold	2%	2%
Bill Richardson	1%	2%
Mark Warner	<1%	1%
Evan Bayh	<1%	1%
Tom Vilsack	<1%	<1%
Undecided	12%	10%

- Angus Reid Consultants

(Sorry, all, for the inconvenient spacing of the above. I've tried tweaking it all I can, but can't get it any more condensed. Blame the source I copied it from, and it's disagreement with Blogger.)

So, looking at this, it doesn't look too hot for Senator Feingold. Obviously, Senator Clinton is the favorite, because she's well-known and has a strong following. This far out, that's all that really matters in polling, because if you're excited about Russ Feingold this early like I am, let's face it, you're a political geek. It's something to be proud of, don't worry.

So these numbers really don't mean anything, do they? Before the 2004 primaries, as close as September 2003, Joe Lieberman was leading in the polls, albeit by a small margin. The voters haven't had a chance to even hear most of these names, and so no one has an opinion on them yet, good or bad. The only reason Senator Clinton is doing well is because she reminds people of the good old days of a Democratic White House.

Except, here's the thing: I like all these people. I think Senator Feingold is the best, most exciting, most representative of my and most peoples beliefs, and even in some ways the most electable. However, the names just listed in that poll show that we, as Democrats, have an enormous number of truly good people, who are all qualified to be the leader of the United States of America. Add in the so-called "rising stars", like Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Sen. Barack Obama, and many more, and you've got a strong, vibrant party. You may not agree with them all of the time, but all of these people prove that we are the party that believes good can come out of government. That compassion is at the root of public work.

Today and every day, I'm proud to be a Democrat.