FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Leading Candidates’ Fail to Generate Great Deal of Support Hillary Clinton Generates the Most Positive and Negative Responses

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – October 10, 2007 – Over the course of the past six months, The Harris Poll ® has been charting views of U.S. adults on each of the leading presidential candidates. In looking at the candidates all together, one thing is clear – none of them is doing a good job of convincing people to vote for them should they become their party’s nominee. Hillary Clinton leads the pack with 36 percent of adults saying they would vote for her if she was the Democratic nominee, followed by Barack Obama (34% would vote for him) and Rudy Giuliani (33% would vote for him if he was the Republican nominee). Next are John Edwards (30%) and John McCain (29%). Just one-quarter of adults (24%) would vote for Fred Thompson and 16 percent said they would vote for Mitt Romney if they were the Republican nominees.

Looking at the other side of the question, feelings seem to be stronger about which candidates Americans would NOT vote for in this presidential race. Half of Americans (50%) said they would not vote for Hillary Clinton, 47 percent said they would not vote for John McCain and 46 percent would not vote for Mitt Romney. Just over two in five (41%) of adults said they would not vote for Barack Obama while 40 percent each say they would not vote for Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards. Just one-third (34%) said they will not vote for Fred Thompson, but 39 percent said they are not sure, which is higher than those who said they would or would not vote for him.

These are some of the results of a series of Harris Polls of 2,200 plus adults surveyed online between March 2007 and September 2007 by Harris Interactive ®. One thing to keep in mind is as these surveys were taken over the course of a few months, the opinions for each candidate reflect those at that period of time and, of course, current attitudes will change in the future.

Among the three Democratic contenders, Hillary Clinton does better among Democratic voters and Independents. Two-thirds (68%) of Democrats would vote her if she was the party’s nominee for President, compared to 60 percent for Barack Obama and just half of Democrats (51%) who would vote for John Edwards. Among Independents, 37 percent said they would vote for Hillary Clinton, while 34 percent would vote for Barack Obama and 29 percent for John Edwards.

On the Republican side, three in five Republicans (60%) would vote for Rudy Giuliani and 59 percent would vote for John McCain. Further down for Republicans is Fred Thompson as just 45 percent of Republicans say they would vote for him if he was their party’s nominee, while one-third of Republicans (33%) would vote for Mitt Romney. Rudy Giuliani also leads John McCain among Independents (34% versus 28%).

The Harris Poll ® #98, October 10, 2007 By Regina Corso, Director, The Harris Poll Candidates as People and Their Political Opinions Majorities of adults said they like Rudy Giuliani (58%), John McCain (53%) and Barack Obama (52%) as a person, while just under half (47%) said the same about John Edwards. While just 37 percent said they like Fred Thompson as a person and 26 percent said they same about Mitt Romney, it is not as if people do not like them. Rather more than half said they are not sure about both Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney (53% and 56% respectively). Hillary Clinton’s numbers shows the division people feel about her – 44 percent said they like her as a person and 45 percent said they dislike her.

In examining the candidates’ political opinions a similar story emerges – most people like the candidates’ political opinions, but the numbers are not as strong. For example, just under half (46%) like Rudy Giuliani’s political opinions while 40 percent feel the same about Barack Obama’s and 37 percent like John McCain’s political opinions and 36 percent like John Edwards’s political opinions. Again, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney are at the bottom, but again, over half of adults said they are not sure about these two candidate’s political opinions. And, yet again, the dislike numbers for Hillary Clinton edge out the like numbers but show a divide over her as 45 percent dislike her political opinions while 42 percent like them.

Attitudes toward Candidates People agree that the candidates are intelligent people. Strong majorities said Hillary Clinton (76%), Rudy Giuliani (70%), Barack Obama (66%) and John McCain (63%) are very intelligent. Just over half (53%) said the same about John Edwards. Again, half are not sure about Fred Thompson (51%) and Mitt Romney (49%).

When it comes to inspiring confidence, just over half (55%) say Rudy Giuliani inspires confidence personally while 47 percent said so about Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton, yet again, shows the division she causes as 44 percent said she inspires confidence while 43 percent said she does not.

One issue that has come up often this campaign season is one of experience – who has it and who doesn’t. Well over half (57%) believe John McCain has experience and is qualified to be president and just over half (53%) said the same about Rudy Giuliani. These numbers are a little better for Hillary Clinton as half (49%) of adults said she has the experience while 39 percent said she lacks experience. While one-third of adults are not sure (32%), 39 percent feel John Edwards has experience and 29 percent say he does not. The only candidate where lack of experience outweighs experience is Barack Obama as just three in ten (31%) believe he has the experience and is qualified while 44 percent believe he lacks experience and is unqualified.

Candidates’ Political Philosophies With only one exception, at least a third of adults for each of the presidential candidates are not sure when it comes to their political philosophies. The one exception? Hillary Clinton. Three in ten (31%) believe she is too liberal but four in ten (41%) believe she is neither too liberal nor too conservative. One in five each believes the

The Harris Poll ®#98, October 10, 2007 By Regina Corso, Director, The Harris Poll other Democrats running are too liberal while one-third of adults believe they are neither too liberal nor too conservative.

On the Republican side, six in ten are not sure about Mitt Romney (61%) and Fred Thompson (62%). Four in ten (41%) believe Rudy Giuliani is neither too liberal nor too conservative and 13 percent believe he is too conservative. The maverick label may have waned for John McCain as one in five (19%) say is too conservative.

So What? While this comparison may not be completely up to date as the surveys take place over the course of many months, some interesting patterns emerge. First, the nation is clearly divided over Hillary Clinton. People already know who she is and what she stands for politically and as a result, there will most likely not be any surprises about her. The experience label is one that Barack Obama will have to overcome – especially when compared to the rest of the field of leading contenders.

Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney have a good deal of work to do. Neither of them is well known by the American people. For Mitt Romney, this means he needs to work to catch up with the front runners before it is too late. For Fred Thompson, this means he needs to let people know what he stands for or he will begin to slip in the polls.

While the Iowa and New Hampshire primary dates are still up in the air, each is about three months from now and this is a long time in politics. How much each candidate can move the needle is unclear? Only time will tell.

TABLE 1 VOTING FOR CANDIDATE “If [candidate] was the Democratic/Republican nominee for President, which is closest to the way you think?” Base: All adults Hillary Barack Rudy John John Fred Mitt Clinton Obama Giuliani Edwards McCain Thompson Romney % % % % % % % Would vote for h im/her (NET) 36 34 33 30 29 24 16 I definitely would vote for him/her 15 13 10 10 8 8 6 I probably would vote for him/her 22 20 23 20 21 15 10 Would not vote for him/her (NET) 50 41 40 40 47 34 46 I probably would not vote for 11 15 17 16 23 15 17 him/her I definitely would not vote for 39 26 23 24 24 19 29 him/her I wouldn’t vote at all 3 2 2 4 3 4 5 Not sure 11 23 24 27 21 39 33 Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

The Harris Poll ®#98, October 10, 2007 By Regina Corso, Director, The Harris Poll TABLE 2 VOTING FOR CANDIDATE – BY PARTY “If [candidate] was the Democratic/Republican nominee for President, which is closest to the way you think?” Those Saying “Definitely/Probably Would vote for him/her” Base: All adults Political Party Total Republican Democrat Independent % % % % Hillary Clinton 36 5 68 37 Barack Obama 34 11 60 34 Rudy Giuliani 33 60 14 34 John Edwards 30 10 51 29 John McCain 29 59 9 28 Fred Thompson 24 45 9 24 Mitt Romney 16 33 7 13 Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

TABLE 3 OPINION OF CANDIDATES “Looking at the list of attributes, please indicate how you feel about each.” Base: All adults Like Strongly Somewhat Dislike Somewhat Strongly Not (NET) like like (NET) dislike dislike sure % % % % % % % As a Person: Hillary Clinton 44 19 26 45 15 29 11 Barack Obama 52 23 30 18 10 8 30 Rudy Giuliani 58 21 37 22 13 9 20 John McCain 53 17 36 18 13 6 28 Fred Thompson 37 16 21 10 5 4 53 John Edwards 47 15 32 23 10 13 30 Mitt Romney 26 6 19 18 11 7 56

Candidate’s Political

Opinions: Hillary Clinton 42 15 27 45 13 31 14 Barack Obama 40 17 23 27 11 16 33 Rudy Giuliani 46 12 34 29 19 10 24 John McCain 37 7 30 35 23 12 28 Fred Thompson 27 12 15 16 9 7 57 John Edwards 36 10 25 31 14 18 33 Mitt Romney 20 5 15 26 14 12 53 Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

The Harris Poll ®#98, October 10, 2007 By Regina Corso, Director, The Harris Poll TABLE 4 ATTITUDES TOWARDS CANDIDATES “Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statements about [candidate].” Base: All adults Total Total Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not Agree Disagree agree agree disagree disagree sure (NET) (NET) % % % % % % % She/He is a very intelligent person. Hillary Clinton 76 47 29 14 6 8 11 Barack Obama 66 33 32 8 5 4 26 Rudy Giuliani 70 27 43 9 6 3 21 John McCain 63 20 43 11 8 3 26 Fred Thompson 41 14 27 8 6 2 51 John Edwards 53 19 34 14 8 6 33 Mitt Romney 42 18 25 9 6 3 49 She/He lacks experience and is unqualified to be president. Hillary Clinton 39 23 16 49 23 26 11 Barack Obama 44 21 22 31 17 14 25 Rudy Giuliani 27 8 19 53 29 23 21 John McCain 17 5 12 57 31 26 27 Fred Thompson 21 6 15 29 15 13 51 John Edwards 29 12 17 39 24 14 32 Mitt Romney 28 10 18 26 19 8 46 She/He inspires confidence personally. Hillary Clinton 44 18 27 43 15 27 13 Barack Obama 47 18 29 26 14 12 27 Rudy Giuliani 55 19 36 24 15 9 21 John McCain 40 10 30 32 21 11 28 Fred Thompson 31 10 21 17 10 7 52 John Edwards 38 9 29 29 14 15 33 Mitt Romney 27 7 20 24 15 10 48 Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 5 CANDIDATE’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY “Do you think [Candidate]…?” Base: All adults Hillary Barack Rudy John Fred John Mitt Clinton Obama Giuliani McCain Thompson Edwards Romney % % % % % % % Is too liberal 31 21 9 8 2 22 6 Is neither too liberal 41 34 41 33 26 33 19 nor too conservative Is too conservative 4 3 13 19 11 3 15 Not sure 25 42 37 41 62 42 61 Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

The Harris Poll ®#98, October 10, 2007 By Regina Corso, Director, The Harris Poll Methodology This Harris Poll ® was conducted online within the United States on a series of surveys between March, 2007 and September, 2007 among 2,200 or more adults (aged 18 and over) for each survey. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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The Harris Poll ®#98, October 10, 2007 By Regina Corso, Director, The Harris Poll