New Poll: McCain Has Cause for Hope / Dems in More Trouble

Matt Lewis | March 13, 2008 8:12 AM

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows John McCain is in pretty good shape, all things considered.

As the poll implies, it is a pretty good bet that, had another Republican been nominated, they would now be facing a steeper hill than the one McCain currently faces. Of course, McCain is helped by the continued Democratic in-fighting. Still, considering the political environment, he is doing very well ...

Here are some important things of note (via the McCain campaign):

Despite a tarnished Republican brand, John McCain enjoys a remarkably strong image ratio of 47 Fav/27 Unfav.
A couple findings in the new poll capture how conflicted Americans are. By a 13-point margin, 50% to 37%, registered voters say they would prefer a Democrat to be elected president. When asked to choose specifically between Arizona Sen. McCain and either Democrat, the results in each case are a statistical tie.
"Americans can visualize John McCain behind the desk in the Oval Office," said Mr. [Democratic pollster Peter] Hart.
The issues environment remains very treacherous for Republicans as a whole.

Update: The deeper I dig into this poll, the more troubling it is for the Dems ...

Bill Clinton's favorability rating is now negative 3. His popularity has tanked among African-American voters.
The black/white divide is huge. Obama is getting 90% of the black vote. Black voters don't seem to be interested in supporting Hillary..
ALSO more importantly... Hillary supporters will not be satisfied if obama is the nominee.
Also, look for the data on whether dem voters think a "hillary super-delegate" win would make her a legitimate nominee. Only 38% said no. 29% said yes. 28% have no opinion either way.
And Hillary wins the "if your primary were held today" question 47-43.