Opinion: Apparently, there’s a poll for everything

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Silly us. We had assumed the only poll grabbing attention today would be the Washington Post/ABC News survey that found the Democratic presidential race in Iowa remaining a true horse race, with Barack Obama apparently enjoying a small edge. Turns out there’s another poll sharing the spotlight.

Pollsters at Quinnipiac University -- well-respected professionals who apparently have too much spare time -- spent the waning days of October asking a cross-section of Americans to select the presidential contenders they would most like to break bread with on Thanksgiving.

No candidate dominated. But finishing first, chosen by 27% of the respondents, was Hillary Clinton. Close behind was Obama (24%) and Rudy Giuliani (22%).

The poll’s margin of error for its total sample of 1,636 Americans was plus or minus 2.4%, meaning the battle among this trio for preferred guest status was essentially a tossup. In breakdowns along party lines, however, Clinton was the clear choice -- 42% of her fellow Democrats tabbed her as their favored dining companion. The figure for Obama was the same as for the overall sample: 24%.

Among Republicans, Giuliani was picked by 26%, followed by Fred Thompson (21%).

For reasons we don’t quite comprehend, the poll went into even more demographic detail (differences among income levels, for instance), which you can peruse here. One finding particularly heartened us: 14% of those interviewed volunteered that they wouldn’t want any of the candidates to intrude upon their holiday festivities.

By the way, for those wondering how various White House aspirants will be spending their Thursday, Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times took the time to find out.

-- Don Frederick