Three polls have been released in the last few days that show Hillary Clinton continues to maintain commanding lead. Those polls are from CNN/Opinion Research, Rasmussen, and Quinnipiac. Many Kossacks are fond of pointing out that polls at this point in the race are meaningless, and in terms of what will happen next year, it is true that they are meaningless. However, they do mean that for either John Edwards or Barack Obama to overcome Hillary, they will need to get traction they have not yet managed to get. The results of the polls follow below the fold.
CNN/Opinion Research
05/04 - 05/06
1028 Voters
Hillary Clinton 38
Barack Obama 24
John Edwards 12
Al Gore 12
Rasmussen
04/30 - 05/03
760 Likely Voters
Hillary Clinton 34
Barack Obama 26
John Edwards 16
Quinnipiac
04/25 - 05/01
1166 Registered Voters
Hillary Clinton 32
Barack Obama 18
John Edwards 12
Al Gore 14
It would seem to me that it's likely the Rasmussen poll that showed Obama with a two-point lead last week represented statistical noise more than a shift in his favor. The Real Clear Politics average shows Hillary today with a +9.8 percent lead in the race for the Democratic nomination.
Update: My little diary seems to have created a little hysteria in the ranks. Are we the reality-based community? If your candidate is not the candidate who is leading in these three polls, do something about it. Denial is not going to win the nomination.
Update: With 219 comments at 6:21 EDT, DCDemocrat has his most popular diary ever. Keep those comments coming!