Democrats and Republicans alike have strong opinions about who has the best chance of capturing the presidency in 2008 - Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, that is - but that is not necessarily the candidate they would rather go bowling with, take along on a family vacation or even vote for.

An in-depth survey of more than 2,000 people offers a window into the thinking of Americans as they look far beyond electability in making their choices for president - grappling with matters of personality, policy and religion in sorting through the candidates.

Overall, the poll finds, Democrats are weighing personal traits more heavily than policy positions this election season; Republicans are putting greater emphasis on policy. The survey by The Associated Press and Yahoo News is a departure from traditional polling in that it will track the opinions of the same people across the country as their beliefs develop and change through the campaign.

The interplay of the personal and the political does not always make for neat and tidy decision-making.

For example, self-described die-hard Republican Donald Stokes, a 48-year-old steelworker from Waterbury, Connecticut, would pick Democrat John Edwards if he could take a candidate along on his family vacation. He likes Edwards' personality and his family values. But he supports Giuliani for president, largely because of the former New York mayor's leadership after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

"I'd rather have a president that's going to get in somebody's face if he's got a problem with them or another country," says Stokes.

Jasmine Zoschak, a 30-year-old physician's assistant from Milford, Pennsylvania, would love to see a woman in the White House - "just not the female that's running this year." She is backing Republican Mike Huckabee for president because of his positive outlook and opposition to abortion, but she would rather invite Obama to dinner.

In this first part of the polling series, the voters signaled there is still hope for candidates playing catchup: Half of likely Democratic voters said they could change their minds about who should win their party's nomination, as did two-thirds of Republicans.

Ask Democrats to size up their party's candidates on personal qualities, and it is easy to see why Clinton is leading national polls of Democrats. She is the candidate most often seen as strong, experienced, decisive, compassionate. Looking for strength, for example, 78 percent of Democrats see the quality in Clinton, 61 percent find it in Obama, 56 percent in Edwards.

The picture is less clear-cut when it comes to ethics and honesty, where Clinton and Obama run about even.

Which Democrat is judged the most likable? None has a clear advantage among Democratic voters, with Clinton, Obama and Edwards running about even. Among all voters, however, Obama has the edge.

It is a measure of how polarizing Clinton can be that she is the both the voters' favored bowling or vacation companion and the one most often ruled out.

Irene Soria, a 60-year-old Democrat from Tulare, California, says she is backing Clinton because "she knows how to play Washington. ... The other two, Edwards and Obama, seem kind of weak to me."

Likability, Soria says, is over-rated. A lot of people thought they could have a beer with George W. Bush, she said, but "look at all the things he's done to the United States. He hasn't done much good."

When Republican voters size up their party's candidates, Giuliani claims the advantage on a host of personal qualities. He is the Republican candidate most often seen as decisive, strong and compassionate. But, just as for Clinton, ethics and honesty are a potential soft spot. Some 59 percent of Republican voters see Senator John McCain as ethical, compared with 54 percent for Giuliani, 45 percent for Fred Thompson and 42 percent for Romney. On honesty, McCain and Giuliani run about even.

Which Republican is the most likable? Giuliani gets the nod, both from Republican voters and among voters overall.

Hold a sheer popularity contest, pitting the most likable Democrat vs the best-liked Republican, and it would be Obama over Giuliani, 54 percent to 46 percent. Ask voters which qualities are most important, though, and they put likability well down the list. They attach far more importance to being honest, ethical, decisive and strong.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/21/2007 page8)