Clinton opens chasm in Democratic race

US: Hillary Clinton cemented her advantage in the Democratic presidential race Wednesday, basking in a 33 point opinion poll lead over rival Barack Obama and snapping up a key trade union endorsement.

The poll came as the Clinton braintrust perceptibly cranked up the pace of their campaign, three months before crucial first nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Fifty-three percent of Democrats polled in the survey said they would vote for Clinton if a presidential primary or caucus was being held in their state now, compared to 20 percent for Illinois Senator Obama.

The former First Lady’s ratings surged 12 percent just from early September, while Obama slumped seven percent, in a period when Clinton and her ex-president husband Bill Clinton fanned out across crucial television markets.

Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards was on 13 percent, with no other party candidate above three percent in the poll.

The poll suggested that Clinton had neutralized Obama’s claim to be the true candidate of change in the race, and that Democratic voters were attracted to her leadership qualities.

Sixty-one percent of those polled thought she would be the strongest leader, 57 percent said she had the best chance of any Democrat in a national election, and 50 percent said she best reflected the values of the Democratic party.

Washington, Thursday, Reuters