The Daily Background

As I noted earlier today, Hillary Clinton is becoming more popular with Americans, as she prepares for a 2008 Presidential bid. In addition, the same poll also found that Al Gore is only behind Clinton by 5 points among Democrats.

Speaking of Senator Clinton (who is quite popular in her state of New York), she has been out-polled by NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic candidate for Governor, who has an astounding 81% approval rating according to the latest poll.

Elsewhere in the country, House Representative John Murtha is becoming more of a popular figure among Democrats. McClatchy (formerly Knight Ridder) reports on the decorated Marine:

What a difference nine months makes.

Last November Rep. John P. “Jack” Murtha, D-Pa., thundered onto the national scene insisting that the U.S. military could accomplish nothing more in Iraq, could only make things worse. He called for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq.

At the time, many of his Democratic colleagues considered his stance suicidal for their party when they’re trying to regain control of Congress despite having long been seen as weak on national security.

Now, Murtha is one of the most popular Democrats around. In recent weeks he’s raised money for Democrats campaigning in New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York and California. In Tennessee, he was former Vice President Al Gore’s guest at a fundraiser for local Democrats. After Labor Day, Murtha will head back out on the road, helping up to four dozen of his party’s candidates.

What a difference nine months makes indeed. For the first time in a long time, Democrats are gaining real ground. Great to see, in an election year.

Update: By the way, Bill Clinton? 70 percent approval.

Filed under: Polls, Z-TDB Blog