Different River

”You can never step in the same river twice.” –Heraclitus

I’m sure everyone will have a reaction to this — some will be elated, others will be scared, and other will have reasons for believing it’s not accurate. But here it is, from USA Today:

Poll majority say they’d be likely to vote for Clinton

By Susan Page, USA TODAY

For the first time, a majority of Americans say they are likely to vote for
Hillary Rodham Clinton if she runs for president in 2008, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday.
…
Clinton commands as much strong support - but more strong opposition - as George W. Bush did in a Newsweek poll in November 1998, two years before the 2000 election. She is in slightly stronger position than then-vice president
Al Gore, the eventual 2000 Democratic nominee, was in 1998.

“Over time, Clinton fatigue has dissipated … and people are looking back on the Clinton years more favorably,” says Andrew Kohut, director of the non-partisan Pew Research Center. In a Pew poll released this month, Kohut called former president
Bill Clinton and the senator “comeback kids” because of their rising ratings.
…
In the poll, 29% were “very likely” to vote for Clinton for president if she runs in 2008; 24% were “somewhat likely.” Seven percent were “not very likely” and 39% were “not at all likely” to vote for her.

Her strong support has risen by 8 percentage points, and her strong opposition has dropped by 5 points since the same question was asked in June 2003.

One reason to doubt the results:

An overwhelming 80% of liberals were likely to support her, compared with 58% of moderates and 33% of conservatives.

33% of conservatives??? 33% of conservatives would vote for one of the most liberal politicians on the scene today? Either that’s wrong, or people are identifying themselves as “conservatives” based on a different definition of conservative than anything I’ve heard.