Giuliani Tops in New Politico Popularity Poll

    Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a prospective 2008 presidential candidate, has won the latest Quinnipiac University poll popularity contest, ranking highest in the warm and fuzzy feeling that voters have for politicians.

    Giuliani rose eight notches over two months ago, according to the poll released Monday. On the flip side, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry dropped 15 seats to rank 20th.

    Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., both also strong contenders for a White House run next election, won second and third place respectively in the gauge of voters' "thermometer readings."

    "As we enter the presidential campaign of 2008, Giuliani and McCain clearly are in enviable positions. They are well regarded and most Americans are quite familiar with them. Obama's showing is impressive, but four in 10 Americans still don't know enough about him to have an opinion," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

    The survey of 1,623 registered voters nationwide was conducted Nov. 13-19, the week after the midterm election. With a margin of error of 2.4 percent, the poll rates the warmth of voters' feelings for their leaders on a scale of 0-100.


It is also useful to look at a further breakdown of the numbers. Among self-described "white evangelical/born again Christians," Giuliani has a 66.3 rating, also the highest in the survey. That puts him ahead of Condoleezza Rice (64.4), President Bush (58.1), John McCain (57.1), Newt Gingrich (47.8) and Mitt Romney's (46.4).

Yes, the New Hampshire primary is a long way off, and yes, even though evangelicals have positive feelings about Giuliani, that doesn't mean they'd vote for him despite his social views. However, here we have yet another data point demonstrating Giuliani's broad appeal even among those who are supposed to be the most antagonistic toward his candidacy.

Perhaps I'm mistaken in my belief that Giuliani will ultimately capture the Republican nomination, but it seems clear that he'll be a force to be reckoned with.