Phil, it is not just the Rasmussen poll. I am always hesitant to put much stock in one poll but if you look at Rudy’s RealClearPolitics average it is up to 10.3% after drifting down a week or so ago into the 6% range. This is not all attributable to the Rasmussen poll. The Cook RT/Strategies poll also shows improvement and Gallup, Newsweek and NBC/Wall Street Journal show him either steady or improving from past polls. Is this former McCain voters finding another candidate? Is it Thompson excitement cooling? I think it’s all of these plus a fairly impressive combination of conservative messaging, a solid debate performance and –perhaps the biggest– electability worries. The latest CNN poll shows Rudy cruising in the electability category with 44% and Thompson, his closest challenger, at 20%. Hillary may be the best thing Rudy has going for him.
