In the 2008 presidential race, polls are inevitably mercurial, but they also can provide a compelling snapshot into the national body politic. It comes as no surprise that a recent Fox 5/Washington Times/Rasmussen poll shows former President Clinton is both an albatross and an asset for his wife's presidential bid.

According to the poll, some 43 percent of adults in the general population think that Mr. Clinton is a net positive for Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign, but 41 percent think he carries too much baggage, while 13 percent say he has a neutral effect. However, these figures shift dramatically when the poll homes in on Democratic voters, who by a margin of 70 percent to 17 percent said they thought Mr. Clinton has a positive rather than negative effect on the Clinton campaign.

Predictably, the trend is reversed among Republicans, among whom 22 percent said Mr. Clinton is a boon for Mrs. Clinton's bid, while 62 percent feel that Mr. Clinton brings questionable trappings. Perhaps most critically, among third-party or independent voters, 47 percent feel that Mr. Clinton is a minus and just 32 percent responded that he is a plus. This margin is striking; it seems that a majority of independent voters would rather see a candidate who isn't tied to a controversial figure such as Mr. Clinton, who has the dubious honor of being one of only two presidents in our nation's history to be impeached.

Interestingly, there is a notable gender gap among younger voters on the subject, with 47 percent of men under age 40 viewing Mr. Clinton as a positive for the campaign, while just 37 percent of their female counterparts share that view. Apparently the notorious charmer isn't beguiling younger women these days.

Our survey of 1,000 adults, which had a margin of error of three points and was taken Dec. 18-19, also found that just 41 percent of respondents know where the top presidential candidates stand on the issues they find most important, while a remarkable 38 percent said they don't know. (Don't expect the media to take this to heart, however, and shift their reporting and focus to substantive issues rather than the all-to-common, trivial horserace fare.)

When asked about the hypothetical scenario of their favorite presidential candidate playing "dirty" or taking pot shots at their opponents, 57 percent of voters said they would "think twice" about supporting that candidate, while 26 percent said they wouldn't and 17 percent were undecided. The candidates themselves should listen to a resounding message from this poll: Negative campaigning is risky business.

The Washington Times, December 29, 2007