An interesting poll

Zogby did a poll in which he asked people to pick the most qualified person to be the next president. He gave those participating in the poll a brief biography and summary of their political careers, but not their names. The results, printed in USNews.com were a bit surprising:
Sorry, Hillary. And Big John, you might have missed your chance in 2000. That's because a new and innovative poll from John Zogby about 2008 presidential candidates finds former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich way out front of fellow GOP-ers like Sen. John McCain and also finds moderates like former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner far ahead of libs like Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

[Snip]

Without her name recognition working for her, Clinton came in a miserable sixth out of 10. "It looks like the Democrats want to grab the middle," says Zogby, who says outside-the-beltway Democrats lean moderate. Surprises on the GOP side: Harsh immigration critic Rep. Tom Tancredo ranks fourth, showing the power of the anti-immigrant issue. Is the poll important? Big time. In 1999, Zogby's "blind bios" poll identified "maverick" McCain as a very attractive candidate in primary states long before he almost knocked off George W. Bush. The Democratic order and percentage: Warner, 14.8; retired Gen. Wesley Clark, 14.2; Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, 12.2; Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, 11.1; former Sen. John Edwards, 10.4; Clinton, 5.6; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, 5.3; former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, 4.9; Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, 4.9; Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, 3; Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, 2.8. The GOP rankings: Gingrich, 21.4; McCain, 13.3; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 11.2; Tancredo, 9.9; Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, 6.1; Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 5.8; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, 5.6; Virginia Sen. George Allen, 4.9; Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback,4.3; Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 3.8; New York Gov. George Pataki, 2.8.

I'm not a huge fan of Newt, but I'll take him over any Democrat and over a liberal Republican like Rudy or an insane Republican like McCain.

Hat Tip: Rush Limbaugh