Rudy 50%, McCain 29%

CBS has an early primary poll out that shows where the top two Republicans stand with their party members right now (h/t Captain Ed):

Senator John McCain of Arizona and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani – two of the front-runners for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008 – both enjoy favorable views from both Republican primary voters, a new CBS News poll finds, but early on in the race, voters favor Giuliani in a head-to-head match up.

Views of Giuliani are especially positive among both moderates and the conservatives that he and McCain are courting. ...

If the GOP nomination battle came down solely to McCain versus Giuliani, Republican primary voters would pick Giuliani by a wide 50% to 29% margin. In that hypothetical scenario 13% would still favor someone else. Both moderates and conservative primary voters today say they would prefer Giuliani.

It's way too early for a poll like this to mean a lot, but it's interesting that Rudy has such a commanding lead at this point in the race. Frankly, unless Rudy has a big bobble somewhere along the road, I think these numbers will hold out. I don't think the GOP is going to go out of its way to look for a reason to elect McCain.