Hillary leads in the Polls...will it matter?

Hillary Clinton could very well end up as the Democratic Candidate for President, and maybe she'll even win the election. If you look at recent headlines you'd wonder why is any other candidate even bothering to try? Poll: As Thompson's star fades, Clinton's on the rise:

On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York continues to gain support and build on her lead. She led Sen. Barack Obama by 23 points last month -- 46 percent to 23 percent. She now leads the Illinois senator by 30 points -- 51 percent to 21 percent.

I decided to search for a flashback moment to October 2003, and I discovered other bloggers had similar thoughts, which made this an easy find, so with a curtsy to Ablogistan we quote Zogby:

“This is stunning. Dean leads 43-20 among Democrats and 35 to 11 among Independents. He hits 40 among all age groups, union and non-union voters. His lead is 57-17 among self-described progressives, 50-20 among liberals, and 34-14 among moderates. Married voters give him a 38-13 edge and singles a 45-21 point lead. He holds huge leads among all education groups, among investors and non-investors, men and women. This qualifies as juggernaut status. Can he be stopped?”

Almost the same things are being written about Hillary Clinton:

Clinton Juggernaut Rolls On

The further we get in this campaign season the more it looks like it will take a huge unforced error on the part of Hillary Clinton to prevent her from winning the Democratic presidential nomination.

This time around though all of the other Presidential candidates are hoping for another Dean moment:

"I am perfectly willing to concede the lead to Hillary at the end of September," says David Axelrod, the chief media strategist for her chief rival, Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

"But if you have any doubts that these campaigns are fluid, go talk to Howard Dean. He was leading the (Democratic) polls in the fall four years ago and ... was being declared the almost-certain (presidential) nominee by the news media by the middle of the fall that year."

Appears Axlerod will have to concede October as well...

Asked about a belief among some that a Clinton nomination is inevitable, Edwards brushed the idea aside.

"I lived through the inevitability of Howard Dean," he said.

John might have to live through the inevitability of Dean as well...

Or? Things could change, the American people and more importantly the American media is a fickle thing and anyone who remembers how one campaign moment for Howard Dean was twisted and blown out of proportion would realize today's poll star could be tomorrow's poll memory...