DailyBulletin.com - 2008 polls mean little now, but they may contain key clues

DailyBulletin.com - 2008 polls mean little now, but they may contain key clues: "2008 polls mean little now, but they may contain key clues By Will Lester, The Associated Press Article Launched: 02/26/2007 12:00:00 AM PST WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton is the clear favorite in early polls for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. So, what does that mean? Not a lot, if history is any guide. Republican hopeful Rudy Giuliani, however, is sitting pretty. For at least three decades, Republicans have been far better than Democrats in early polls at getting behind the candidates who end up winning the party's presidential nomination. Note that Edmund Muskie in 1972, George Wallace in 1976, Ted Kennedy in 1980, Gary Hart in 1988, Mario Cuomo in 1992 and Joe Lieberman in 2004 were early front-runners among Democrats. None won the nomination. Republicans have picked the early front-runner in seven of the past 10 elections, according to Gallup polling. In the other three elections, Republican incumbents cruised to re-election. Democrats nominated a former vice president, Walter Mondale, in 1984, and a sitting vice president, Al Gore, in 2000. For those elections, the early polls were more predictable at picking the front-runner. Why has the GOP been better at predicting winners? "