Gallup: Hillary's "Political Counselor's" Popularity Nears New High

[wyldwolf]

Who even knew they tracked presidential approval ratings -- after the president leaves office? In any case, the folks at Gallup report today that Bill Clinton's approval rating, more than six years after leaving office, is near an all-time high.

His 63% approval rating is his highest since February 1998, and just short of his high mark, 66%, set just prior to his inauguration in 1993. His average as president was 57%. His current mark is slightly above that of his wife, Hillary Clinton, which currently stands at 58%.

Meanwhile, another Gallup polls shows Sen. Clinton topping Sen. John McCain in a 2008 match for president, by three points, 50% vs. 47%, while Clinton trails Rudy Giuliani by two points, 48% vs. 50%.

Surprisingly, newcomer Sen. Barack Obama does nearly as well vs. McCain (tying with him at 48%), but trails Giuliani by a nine-point margin: 43% to 52%. Gallup attributes the latter falloff to Democratic defections. Why that is might produce interesting speculation.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003546300
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2007/02/bill_clinton_is.html

Although the former president's role in his wife's campaign for president is not fully clear at this point, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton referred to her husband as her "full-time political counselor" in a speech in New Hampshire this weekend.

Polling info so people can spin it differently:

http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=26578