Latest poll

It's got good news and bad news for Obama. But this section really struck me:

The poll suggests that the once-muscular grip on the Democratic base held by Clinton and her husband, the former president, has loosened quickly as they have intensified their attacks on Obama and tried to paint him as ill-prepared for the presidency.

One of the most striking findings is that when Democratic voters are asked whom they support now, regardless of whom they voted for in an earlier primary or caucus, Obama leads by nearly 20 points, 55% to 37%. [my emphasis]

"I liked Bill [Clinton], and I liked the combo of both of them," said Monica Butler, 48, an executive assistant who lives in Orlando, Fla. "But then Bill just started running off his mouth again, and then you really think about things, and you think, 'Oh, my God, are we going backward again? We need to go forward.'

"As for the New York senator, Butler added: "I just don't relate to her anymore. She came out with good intentions, but I think she was more true to herself in the beginning than she is now."

Poll respondent Valerie Grivas, a 49-year-old graphic artist in San Antonio, said she decided in the last few days that she would vote in the Texas primary for Obama, even though she has been excited about the prospect of electing the first female president.She said she "couldn't bear to watch" as Clinton attacked Obama during their debate in Austin last week. Playing off Obama's campaign slogan of "Change you can believe in," Clinton called his recent repetition of language spoken in 2006 by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, an Obama friend and supporter, "change you can Xerox."

"I can't stand to hear her try to shame him or insult him," Grivas said. "It makes her look petty and small, and I don't want them to attack each other. I want them to be on the same team."