Romney, Clinton favored

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney have emerged as the leading presidential favorites among party insiders, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll, which found deep partisan divisions over the country's direction and top issues in the 2008 campaign.

The survey showed former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina in second place among Democratic Party leaders, ahead of Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. It pointed up danger signs for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who trailed Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, the leader among Republicans in national voter surveys.

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