I didn't see this posted earlier, which probably means that I'm not using the DKos search correctly. At any rate, it looks like (according to a Pew poll) that although Russ Feingold is not rated as highly among Dems as the Democratic Party heavyweights (Hillary Clinton, Kerry, etc.), he is doing
very well among independents. A linky-link and the quote on the flip.
First, I saw
this in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and the thrust of the column was how Russ was middle-of-the-road when it came to fundraising.
However, then there was this!
In a Pew national poll released Friday, more self-described independents rated Feingold favorably (59%) than did Democrats (57%). By contrast, Clinton, Kerry, Edwards and Biden all did much better among Democrats surveyed. Those percentages are of voters who had an opinion. For example, in the same April 7-16 poll of 1,501 voting-age adults, 43% hadn't heard of Feingold and another 19% couldn't rate him. Of those who did have an opinion about him, half rated him favorably, half unfavorably.
Unless I'm misreading it, this sounds VERY promising for those hoping for a Feingold candidacy in 2008 (like, say, me). First, it would make sens that Clinton, Biden, et al. would do better than Russ, as they have more name recognition, and the 43%/19% who hadn't heard of/couldn't rate Russ bears that out. But that Russ is rated well by nearly 60% of independents is VERY exciting and bodes well for a presidential campaign. Considering the mess he'd be inheriting, I'm pretty much convinced he's the most capable candidate we have, much more than (say) John Edwards.