Time Poll Puts Clinton in Lead

The latest Time Magazine poll has Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama by 19 points.

In a telephone survey conducted between Jan 22 and 23 of just over 1000 registered Democrat voters, Clinton was the preferred candidate by 40% of respondents.

Obama was on 21% with former Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards on 11%, and former Vice President and 2000 nominee Al Gore on 9%.

According to the poll, Clinton was also the best placed to beat the lead Republican candidate, John McCain - as preferred President, she was tied with him 47-47. McCain beats other Democrat candidates by at least 7 points.

However, while 51% of respondents have a positive view of Clinton, 41% have a negative one. While the overall poll is extremely favorable, this last figure might cause some concern for the Clinton camp.

So expect the "polarizing" argument to be quite prominent in the media in the coming weeks.