The rules of attraction
By The Associated Press

This isn't a popularity contest... but it still helps for presidential candidates to be likable.

Forty percent found Hillary Rodham Clinton likable, compared to 54 percent for Barack Obama, 45 percent for John McCain and 31 percent for Mitt Romney. Clinton's rating has not changed since the first AP-Yahoo News poll in November, while the others' have grown slightly.

Partisan prisms
People's views of the candidates' characteristics are deeply influenced by which party they belong to. Sixty-four percent of Democrats and 11 percent of Republicans think Clinton is honest. Obama is seen as refreshing by 65 percent of Democrats and 38 percent of Republicans. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans and 42 percent of Democrats see McCain as ethical, while 44 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of Democrats view Romney as strong.

Looking good (kind of)
Party allegiances also seem to shape how attractive people think the candidates are—though in some cases there is bipartisan agreement.

Sixty-three percent of Democrats say Clinton is attractive compared to 17 percent of Republicans, with Democratic women slightly likelier to say so than men. Obama is viewed as attractive by 58 percent of Democrats, 41 percent of Republicans. Romney is considered attractive by 46 percent of Republicans and 32 percent of Democrats. As for John McCain, he is seen as attractive by about a quarter of those from both parties.

Something personal
Asked what came to mind when they think about the candidates, 61 percent of people's answers about Clinton dealt with personal qualities, such as her gender. Fifty-six percent of the responses about Obama, 39 percent about McCain and 42 percent about Romney were also personal traits.

Are we voting?
Fifty-five percent say they're interested in news about the presidential campaign, up from 45 percent in November. Eighty-four percent say they've given at least some thought to the candidates, while 76 percent said so in November.

- - -

The survey of 2,016 adults was conducted from Jan. 18-28, and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. Included were interviews with 943 Democrats, for whom the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.2 points, and 740 Republicans, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 points.

The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, based on reinterviews of a nationally representative sample of adults initially contacted in November. The respondents were first contacted using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.