President's Day Poll: Hillary Clinton Numbers Continue to Dive

The poll numbers for a possible 2008 presidential run continue to dive for Hillary Rodham Clinton. 2006 has greeted the one-time anointed Democratic presidential nominee with some abysmal poll numbers.

Hillary Poll Numbers Dive

The latest comes from a President's Day survey conducted for Hearst Newspapers.

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Hillary Rodham Clinton's numbers are down across the board:

-- 44 percent of survey respondents now say that Clinton "should not run" for president in 2008 -- up from 37 percent who felt that way last year.

--The percentage of registered voters who say Clinton "should run" slipped from 53 percent to 51 percent over the past year.

Combine this poll with Hillary's earlier Gallup poll where 51 percent of Americans say they definitely would not vote for Clinton if she runs for president and an abysmal 16 percent say they are firmly behind her expected run and the bad news for Clinton and her supporters just keeps coming.

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The poll did note a rising star, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Some 48 percent of survey participants said Rice "should run" for president at the conclusion of President Bush's two terms -- an increase of 6 percentage points over a similar survey a year ago.

The poll also concentrates on the ridiculous question of whether America is "ready" for a woman president.  The survey found that 79 percent of participants were willing to vote for a woman as president and 64 percent said the nation was "ready" for one.

For most voters, it will be the strengths of the candidate, not the gender.  Right now, Hillary Clinton is a weak candidate. 

Will a conservative Democrat now step up and challenge her?

--CK Rairden