Presidential Poll Potpourri

Here's some interesting news and notes from the world of political polling...

- Barack Obama has now passed Hillary Clinton in the Iowa polls, pulling in 30% compared to Clinton's 26%. John Edwards isn't too far behind Clinton at 22%, and Bill Richardson is polling 4th with 11%. What's funny is that this parity in numbers looks similar to the Republican polls.

- Personality vs. Policy...Democratic voters weighing personal traits more than policy positions, Republican voters emphasizing policy stances over personality. Anyone else not surprised by this?

- From the same story above, Rudy Giuliani is the most personally likeable candidates on either side, Barack Obama is the most likeable Democrat. Likeability ratings cross party lines in an interesting way. Mike Huckabee supporters are generally the "happiest" people in America compared to supporters of other candidates.

- Approval Ratings...Gallup Poll: Congress 20%, Bush 32%. Congress' numbers are near the all-time low set by in 1993...not surprisingly, the Democrats had control of Congress then, as well.

- Rasmussen Reports: Rudy Giuliani leads in Florida primary polls with 27%, Mitt Romney at 19%, Fred Thompson at 16%. Iowa polls have Romney at 29%, Huckabee at 16%, Giuliani at 15%, and Fred Thompson at 14%. New Hampshire is similar with Romney at 26%, Huckabee at 18%, Giuliani with 15%, and Fred Thompson at 14%.

- RealClearPolitics GOP National Poll Averages: Giuliani 27.8%, Thompson 14.8%, Romney 13.4%, McCain 12.8%, Huckabee 8.8%, Paul 4.6%. Romney is polling as high as 21% and as low as 8% in some polls. Fred is anywhere between 12-19%.