Rudy Crushing McCain in California

With the primary moving up to early February, California suddenly becomes a player in the presidential candidate selection process, something that never happened when our primary was in June. The candidates had long been determined by the time us Golden Staters got a chance to vote.

Sen. John McCain from neighboring Arizona would be expected to have a strong showing in California, especially against a New Yorker, but so far, that's not the case:

In a California presidential primary, a new Datamar survey finds Sen. Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic pack with 34%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 24% and John Edwards at 16%.

On the Republican side, the poll shows Rudy Giuliani leading with 41%, trailed by Sen. John McCain at 17% and Mitt Romney at 10%.

41% to 17%? Wow. I didn't think the margin would be that big. Gov. Swarzenegger seems to be a fan of both guys, and maybe more so of McCain, but I'm not sure that's going to make an appreciable difference in the polls.

Over on the Dem side, Obama is just starting to hit his stride and I wouldn't be surprised if his and Hillary's numbers reverse, and do so fairly soon. And also from Political Wire, there's this bit of Hillary news:

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) "has a new commandment for the 2008 presidential field: Thou shalt not mention anything related to the impeachment of her husband," reports the Washington Post.

"With a swift response to attacks from a former supporter last week, advisers to the New York Democrat offered a glimpse of their strategy for handling one of the most awkward chapters of her biography. They declared her husband's impeachment in 1998 -- or, more accurately, the embarrassing personal behavior that led to it -- taboo, putting her rivals on notice and all but daring other Democrats to mention the ordeal again."

That looks like another example of an "ill-conceived move". She's just told the world what her hot button is, and you can bet if things get tough, her opposition will use it.