OTTAWA - A new poll suggests Canadians prefer a Democrat over another Republican in the 2008 U.S. presidential election by a four-to-one margin.
The Decima Research survey was released to The Canadian Press on the same day that U.S. President George Bush was unveiling his new plan for the war in Iraq. The failed war effort has hurt the Republican president's popularity on both sides of the border.
The Decima survey this month of more than 1,000 Canadians found that 47 per cent wanted a Democrat to replace Bush in the White House in 2008, compared with just 12 per cent who wanted a Republican. Forty-two per cent didn't offer an opinion.
The Democratic preference in the survey was found in every region of the country. Albertans, along with self-idenfied Conservative voters, preferred a Democratic president replace Bush by a two-to-one margin.
Among possible Democratic nominees, former first lady Hillary Clinton was the most popular choice in the Decima survey, favoured by 31 per cent of respondents.
The poll is considered accurate to within plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20.
