No More Front-runner

Al Gore's decision to bow out of the 2004 presidential race has thrown the contest for the Democratic nomination wide open. But according to the latest TIME/CNN poll, the person registered Democrats and those leaning Democratic would most like to see replace Gore is a politician who isn't even running: New York Senator Hillary Clinton. The former First Lady is the choice of 30% of the respondents, more than double that of any of the other con-tenders. Of those actually vying for the ticket, Gore's 2000 running mate, Joe Lieberman, and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry are the frontrunners, each with only 13%. Among all registered voters, President Bush beats both men handily, 55% to 39% in a race against Lieberman, and 56% to 39% against Kerry. Now that Gore is out of the limelight, the Democrats must spend the next two years trying to help voters figure out just exactly who these guys are.