Hillary Clinton IS electable.

A writeup in today's WaPo shows that H. Clinton is not quite so divisive and polarizing a figure as some think.

Some excerpts:

Forty-one percent of those surveyed said they definitely would not vote for Clinton in the general election if she were the Democratic nominee, one of the lowest "reject rates" among the leading candidates in either of the two major parties. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) registers the lowest definite opposition, at 39 percent.

Former senator John Edwards of North Carolina often contends that he is the most electable Democrat and one who can campaign successfully in regions where Clinton cannot, but the poll found that, over the past five months, more Americans have turned away from him as a general-election option. In April, 35 percent said they definitely would not vote for him; in the latest poll, 43 percent ruled him out. And in the South, Edwards's home turf, the three leading Democrats have all been ruled out by nearly identical percentages: Edwards by 47 percent, Clinton by 46 percent and Obama by 45 percent.

Americans currently view the top four Republican candidates in equally or even more negative terms. Forty-four percent said they definitely would not vote for Giuliani, while 45 percent said the same of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). More than half of all Americans said they definitely would not vote for former senator Fred D. Thompson of TennesseeMassachusetts governor Mitt Romney (57 percent). (54 percent) or former

On the other side of the ledger, more Americans, three in 10, said they definitely would support Clinton rather than any of the other leading candidates of either party. In contrast, 17 percent said they definitely would support Giuliani...

At this point, a hypothetical matchup between Clinton and Giuliani shows the senator leading the former mayor 51 percent to 43 percent. When the Post-ABC News poll last tested the two against each other, in January, the race was a tossup, with Clinton at 49 percent and Giuliani at 47 percent. In the new poll, among those following the campaign very closely, Clinton enjoys a sizable lead -- 58 percent to 40 percent.

Wow. Clinton's really "surged" in the past month or two, if you'll pardon my use of the word.

The rap on Hil is typically that she "seems more liberal than she is" - i.e. that moderates think she's an extremist, but she's actually too right-wing, making her the worst of both worlds. I think this poll shows that at least the first half of that rap is wrong.