Polls Find Voters Weighing Issues vs. Electability

By ADAM NAGOURNEY
New York Times

This article was reported by Adam Nagourney, Marjorie Connelly and Dalia Sussman and written by Mr. Nagourney.

Democratic voters in Iowa and New Hampshire — the states that begin the presidential nominating battle — say Senator Barack Obama and John Edwards are more likely than Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to say what they believe, rather than what they think voters want to hear, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Polls. But they also view Mrs. Clinton as the best prepared and most electable Democrat in the field, the polls found.

Republican voters in those two states say that Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, shares their values and views on immigration, a red-hot issue for Republicans in Iowa especially. But they are divided over whether Mr. Romney or Rudolph W. Giuliani, who Republican voters say does not share their values, would be the party’s strongest general-election candidate — and electability looms as a crucial factor for Republican voters in those states.

These are some of the findings in twin polls conducted by the New York Times and CBS News in the two states, which will begin the nominating process in less than two months. The polls found that the electorates in the two states had different perceptions of the candidates and concerns about issues, while suggesting that the outcome was far from settled in either place.

The Democratic contest is essentially tied in Iowa, among Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama and Mr. Edwards, while Mrs. Clinton has a substantial lead in New Hampshire, according to The Times/CBS News Polls.

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