Bloomberg: Obama, Thompson gain ground on clinton

[illinoisprogressive]

Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton are the frontrunners for their parties' presidential nominations, though Fred Thompson has the most momentum on the Republican side and Democrat Barack Obama has the broadest appeal of any candidate.

A new Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll shows Thompson with 21 percent support, trailing only Giuliani, who has 27 percent; Arizona Senator John McCain and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney run well behind. Thompson, who has yet to announce his candidacy, beats everyone among self-described conservatives, considered the base of the Republican Party.

``Thompson was able to resonate because the Republicans are not that thrilled with their candidates,'' said Susan Pinkus, the Los Angeles Times poll director.

Among Democrats, Clinton, 59, is in first place, with 33 percent support, followed by Obama, 45, with 22 percent, and former Vice President Al Gore, who has said he won't be a candidate, with 15 percent. The survey of 1,056 registered voters was conducted June 7 to 10 and has a margin of sampling error of 3 percentage points.

Obama, an Illinois senator, is clearly the strongest general-election candidate. He is the only Democrat who beats all three major Republican contenders: Giuliani, McCain and Romney. Clinton runs behind all three Republican contenders in head-to-head match-ups.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aomYIsLvT4hY&refer=home