Thompson in the lead -- the horse race continues; Dems worried about Thompson, Republicans offering to help Obama

Most polls are showing Fred Thompson in a solid second place behind Guiliani in the GOP field. Pretty good for a guy who is still testing the waters.

But now, Rasmussen's latest poll results show Thompson in a narrow lead over Guiliani, 28%-27% -- this is the first time all year that anyone but Guiliani has led the field in any poll.

And now that the consensus at Left in the West is that Thompson is the most dangerous GOP candidate -- apparently based on the dual premises that actually Thompson believes all of that conservative stuff and has the best chance of getting elected. That pretty much settles it for Montana Headlines -- we trust LITW's judgment that much.

In the same spirit, Jim Geraghty over at National Review today offered some pretty detailed poll-based advice to the Barack Obama campaign on how to make gains on Hillary Clinton.

We're certain, however, that this advice is offered purely on the basis that Obama would be a better President for the nation -- and not that he would be easier to beat than Clinton.