NBC/WSJ national poll

Via Pollster.com - an extensive poll was released by NBC/WSJ (PDF). Outside of the horse-race numbers, the most interesting part is the candidate-characteristics. The following is a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the remaining Presidential candidates. I have summed the responses (from all voters) that gave a candidate a 4 or 5 score (on a scale of 1-5, 5 being best).

The only quality where Senator Clinton handily beats Senator Obama is "knowledgeable/ experienced". Clinton 50%, Obama 28%. But Senator McCain gets 66%!

Senators Clinton and Obama are about the same in "strong leadership" (50%, 46%) and "good commander-in-chief" (43%, 41%), but Senator McCain (61% on each metric) beats them both by 11-20%.

Senators McCain and Obama are about the same in "personal/moral standards" (56%, 57%)and "honest/straightforward" (52%, 53%), and handily beat Senator Clinton (standards 40%, honest 33%) by 16-20%.

Senator Obama easily beats Senators McCain and Clinton on the other metrics:

Quality	Obama	McCain	Clinton
compassionate	59%	40%	44%
real change	50%	30%	38%
inspiring/exciting	56%	22%	33%
easygoing/likeable	69%	37%	30%

So my interpretation would be - Senator Clinton is similar to Senator McCain (McCain-lite!), but not as favorably-viewed. Senator Obama offers the strongest contrast to Senator McCain.... and you could easily have a beer with Senator Obama ;-)