Early but promising

If you are a Republican running for President, these numbers should scare the hell out of you.

The poll of 1,000 adults, taken ahead of Thursday's debate between the eight Republican candidates for their party's 2008 nomination, showed Clinton beating Republican favorite Giuliani 49-46 percent; Obama beating Giuliani 50-43 percent; and Edwards beating the former New York City mayor 50-44 percent.

Senator Clinton, wife of former US president Bill Clinton, l led Republican Senator McCain 50-44 percent, while Senator Obama beat McCain 52-39 percent and Edwards topped him 52-42 percent.

Similar matchups against the Republican former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney showed even greater spreads favoring the Democrats.

So our top three beats their top three in any combination – sweet. November 2008 may be eternity away but things are setting up nicely for the home team