Half of Americans say they wouldn't vote for Clinton in '08
 "More than half of Americans say they wouldn't consider voting for Sen. Hillary Clinton for president if she becomes the Democratic nominee," according to a new poll, McClatchy Newspapers reports.
"The poll by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research found that 52 percent of Americans wouldn't consider voting for Clinton, D-N.Y," William Douglas writes.
Clinton, the pace-setter in the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, raised 27 million dollars in the last three months -- but still less than top rival Barack Obama, her campaign said Thursday.
As the closely-watched second quarter presidential race fundraising stakes drew to a close, campaigns jockeyed to spin their efforts in their best light possible, as a crucial Saturday deadline loomed.
Clinton campaign communications director Howard Wolfson said in an email that her three-month-take would be around 27 million dollars.
"To put that figure in some perspective, it is more than any Democrat has ever raised in the second quarter of the 'off' year," Wolfson said, referring to the year before a US presidential election.
"While that figure is record-setting, we do expect Senator Obama to significantly outraise us this quarter," Wolfson wrote.
In the first quarter fundraising period, which saw an unprecedented windfall of campaign cash, Clinton stuffed 26 million dollars into her war chest, a few hundred thousand dollars more than Obama.
But the first-term Illinois senator's figure stunned observers as he had to piece together a fundraising operation from scratch. He was up against Clinton's established network, including her fundraiser extraordinaire husband, former Democratic president Bill Clinton.
Obama's campaign said on Thursday meanwhile that he was on course to receive donations from 250,000 individual donors by the June 30 deadline. It did not give an estimate of his third-quarter take.
"Each donation to this campaign is a declaration of commitment to the idea that we can change our politics and elect a leader who will inspire and unite this country," said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.
Wolfson said the "bottom line" of the second quarter figures was that Clinton and Obama would both "raise a great deal of money."
"Ultimately, this race will come down to the candidates themselves, their message and the quality of their campaigns," he said.
Clinton has held a double digit lead in national polls of the Democratic field for months, and put up strong showings in a series of party debates.
Multi-million dollar campaign fundraising has often been called "the mother's milk" of US politics, and is set to be even more important in what looks set to become the most expensive US election ever.
As well as powering huge countrywide campaigns and buying television advertising, fundraising totals are seen as a key indicator of a presidential hopeful's viability.
Figures of a third Democrat, defeated 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards and struggling Republican John McCain will be closely watched this time around.
Both candidates are thought to be in danger of falling out of the crucial first-tier of party candidates unless they turn in a strong performance.
Edwards's campaign Thursday sent an email urging supporters to work within the last 72 hours up to the deadline to help him reach his goal of nine million dollars in the quarter.
(with wire reports)
Excerpts from McClatchy report:
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Clinton has long been considered a politically polarizing figure who'd be a tough sell to some voters, especially many men, but also Clinton-haters of both genders. Thursday's survey provides a snapshot of the challenges she faces, according to Larry Harris, a Mason-Dixon principal.
"Hillary's carrying a lot of baggage," he said. "She's the only one that has a majority who say they can't vote for her."
Clinton rang up high negatives across the board, with 60 percent of independents, 56 percent of men, 47 percent of women and 88 percent of Republicans saying they wouldn't consider voting for her.
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FULL MCCLATCHY REPORT AT THIS LINK
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