New York: Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton remains the favoured choice for her partymen though the number of Democrats who feel rival Barak Obama is the "strongest candidate" against Republicans has doubled after his surprise victory in Iowa, a new poll has found.

Republican voters have sharply altered their views of the party's presidential candidates, with Senator John McCain, once widely written off, now viewed more favourably than any of his major competitors, according to the latest nationwide New York Times/CBS News Poll.

The poll showed a more stable Democratic race. Among Democratic primary voters nationally, Clinton, who made a comepback in New Hampshiore after the Iowa loss, remains the favorite of 42 percent, compared with 27 percent backing Obama -- essentially unchanged since December.

John Edwards remains in third place at 11 percent. But, the Times says, there were auspicious signs for Obama as the contest moves to the South, where blacks account for a large share of the Democratic primary electorate.

About half of black Democratic primary voters -- 49 percent -- said they planned to vote for Obama, while 34 percent said they backed Clinton.
Among white Democratic primary voters, 42 percent said they were supporting Clinton, while 24 percent said they backed Obama.

But Clinton and Obama are now viewed by Democrats as almost equally qualified on a variety of measures, including the ability to serve as commander in chief, the poll shows.

The findings underscored the extraordinary volatility in the Republican race and suggest that the party is continuing to search for a nominee whom it could rally around.

Source : PTI