In the most recent Quinnipiac University poll, released today, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani lead their respective nomination races. From The Columbus Dispatch:

Giuliani is favored by 31 percent of Republicans, compared with 20 percent for Sen. John McCain, 8 percent for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and 6 percent each for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson.

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On the Democrats' side, 32 percent picked Clinton, compared with 22 percent for Obama. A Quinnipiac poll almost two months ago showed Clinton with a 38 percent to 13 percent lead.

In the latest poll, 14 percent of Democrats picked former Vice President Al Gore and 11 percent chose former vice presidential candidate John Edwards. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio was favored by 3 percent.

Read the rest at the link above. The poll was conducted from last Tuesday through this Monday.

Hillary's lead over Obama has been cut by more than half, but remains significant. Interesting that Gore, who is not running, outpolls Edwards, who has been running nonstop since 2003. Kucinich is making a mighty run to beat "Margin of Error" in his home state.

On the Republican side, it brings more disheartening news for the floundering McCain campaign. Once widely regarded as the frontrunner and "heir apparent" to a Republican nomination which has nearly always gone to "the next guy in line" over the last half a century, McCain can't seem to dent "America's Mayor"'s lead anywhere (he has slumped to a statistical tie in New Hampshire with 29% support to Rudy's 28% in the state where he shocked the field with a blowout 49% win in 2000).

We also note with interest that, echoing Gore on the Democratic side, third place still falls to Gingrich, another "non-candidate" so far. Fred Thompson makes his poll debut at 6%, which is neither great nor awful for another "almost exploring" candidate, but must hurt the Romney campaign in that even the rumored candidacy of an alternate conservative can equal his established and well-financed campaign.

In the potential match-ups, Clinton leads Giuliani and McCain by statistically insignificant margins, and would beat up on the others. Obama and Edwards also both show strength in tying Giuliani and beating McCain and the rest.

At this point, we must say Ohio looks like a toss-up once again for 2008, but is leaning blue for perhaps the first time since 1996.

2008 presents a potential shift in traditional party power bases - or perhaps more accurately a continuation of recent trends away from the traditional bases. No Republican has EVER been elected President without Ohio, and no Democrat has EVER won without at least three states from the old Confederacy (only Clinton did it with that few, in '96). Yet, we enter the 2008 campaign with Democrats standing a good chance of taking Ohio but being swept in the South.

The apocryphal "Chinese curse" is "May you live in interesting times." These days surely qualify.