Yep, she's still a polarizing figure

A recent Gallup poll shows that 39 percent of Americans are "not at all likely" to vote for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., if she runs for president in 2008. That's a full 10 percentage points higher than the number of people who said they would be very likely to support her, though a majority of Americans said they'd be at least somewhat likely.

The poll didn't offer a breakdown of respondents by region, but based on anecdotal evidence, I'd venture that the "not at all likely" number is much higher in the South. Nonetheless, Clinton's name recognition and donor support make her the de facto front-runner for the 2008 Democratic nomination right now, but it's far too early to handicap the race with any degree of certainty.

Clinton has told reporters she's "focused on winning re-election" to the Senate in 2006, and she'll almost certainly cruise to victory unless former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani breaks with the conventional wisdom and enters the fray. Former President Richard Nixon's son-in-law just isn't the guy to knock off an incumbent with 67 percent support in New York.