Wait, I thought you were the guy who doesn't trust polls? Just kidding.

To reiterate a point I've made here before (some people are probably sick of it by now), look at Bill Richardson's appeal to Republicans and Independents as compared to Clinton's. Then explain to me why Hilary is leading the pack.

This is especially interesting when you consider that NY's "independents" are probably more left-leaning, whereas NM's "independents" are probably more right-leaning.

Bill Richardson sounds pretty good on the environment. I'd be curious to know what he thinks of nuclear power. He, of all the candidates, should be aware of the issues of storing nuclear waste.

The environment is the single most important issue to me, bar none.

That said, *, are you stating that you think that Bill Richardson leaning toward the right is a good thing? Not to me. I'm looking for a strong liberal. The center is so far to the right these days that it's literally scary to me. When people in today's center thing that The New York Times is "a liberal rag" and I know that it is still just slightly RIGHT of center, I get nervous. I'm looking first for an environmentalist, second for a liberal. Since the two have a tremendous overlap, I expect not to have to choose between these ideals.

Oh, and, as a New Yorker, I agree with the poll. El Duce may be the least bad on the Republican side. I hope he gets the nomination. I also hope he loses.

Scott,

I'm strictly talking about chances of victory in the general election. I think Richardson's appeal to the center and disillusioned conservatives make him a lock for a general election victory. I understand that the far left would be less happy voting for Richardson than Kucinich, but they will vote for whomever the Dems nominate at this point. That makes Richardson a lock to win. I also think that Richardson would be a better president than any of the other candidates, but I'm also not a Democrat.

Understand, I'm not saying that Richardson is the only Democratic candidate who can win. After eight years of Republican corruption and incompetence at the executive level, it's the Democrat's election to lose. But if I were a Democratic voter, I'd prefer to take the sure thing at this point. I think Hillary stands a good chance of losing in the general election if she is the Democratic nominee.