The latest Hillary Meter finds that 43% of Americans view the former First Lady as politically liberal. Another 30% say she’s a moderate and 10% see her as conservative. That reflects a very slight shift to the right from our previous survey (see trends).

Currently New York’s junior Senator is perceived as being 50 points to the left of the nation’s political center. Two weeks ago, she was 54 points left of the nation’s political center. A month ago, she held a position 3 points closer to the center at 51.

The political center is calculated by subtracting the number of liberals from the number of conservatives among the general public (35% conservative, 18% liberal for a net +17). For the Senator, 10% conservative minus 43% liberal equals a net minus 33. The minus 33 reading for Senator Clinton is 50 points away from the plus 17 reading for the general public.

By way of comparison, former Vice President Al Gore is seen by the public as further to the left than both Senator Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Republican Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are seen as closer to the nation's political center. President George W. Bush is 29 points to the right of center.

The current Hillary Meter survey shows that 45% hold a favorable opinion of Clinton, up 5 from the last survey. The number with an unfavorable opinion is down by 4 to 40%. Among women, 50% have a favorable opinion. That figure rises to 62% among women under 40.

Twenty-four (24%) of Americans now believe that Senator Hillary Clinton is “very likely” to be the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2008, a one point increase over the last survey, which was the lowest level ever recorded in more than three dozen Hillary Meter surveys dating back to April 2005.

If she is on the Presidential ballot in 2008, 37% of Americans say they would definitely vote against Senator Clinton. That’s down two points from 39% two weeks ago. Thirty-two percent (32%) say they would definitely vote for her, relatively unchanged from the previous survey (see trends). In every edition of the Hillary Meter, a plurality of Americans have said they would definitely vote against her.

The Hillary Meter is a twice monthly measure of Senator Hillary Clinton's effort to move to the political center. The next update is scheduled for Thursday, October 19, 2006. For as long as the former First Lady is a viable candidate for the White House, Rasmussen Reports will monitor public perceptions of her political ideology.

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