Once an undisputed leader among potential candidates for December, in recent years her standing in opinion surveys had slipped.
Mr McCain's standing in opinion polls is improving slightly, for the first time since the financial meltdown began in September (and since the public mood appeared to turn against Sarah Palin, his running mate).
Many voters see them less as a solution than as part of Japan's problem, and their standing in opinion polls is even worse than that of the LDP.
A contest based on personalities would be an exception.Yet Mr Aso's standing in opinion polls has slid since he took office, narrowing the gap with Mr Ozawa: his honeymoon was brief indeed.
Many more such controversies have passed without regret since, but Trump's closely watched standing in opinion polls has plummeted after he last month attacked the parents of a Muslim war hero who died serving in the US army.
If she gets a clean bill of health, the media attention could elevate her name recognition and standing in opinion polls, said Christopher Garman, an analyst at Eurasia Group in Washington.
Abbott, whose standing in opinion polls has been damaged by a series of unpopular budget cuts, policy U-turns and gaffes, said he would fight the leadership challenge because Australia needed "strong and stable government" and the prime ministership was "not a prize or a plaything to be demanded".
Actually, this has been a long-standing opinion in certain conservative circles, arising largely out of a latent hostility to parties, which are viewed as a divisive force among citizens, a threat to national unity, and an enticement to corruption and demagoguery.
Judge Walker himself addressed the issue of standing in his opinion on Thursday when he denied a request from the Proposition 8 proponents for a stay of his initial decision, issued on Aug. 4, that found the ban unconstitutional.
At the same time, the United States' standing in public opinion in Egypt and around the region continues to suffer because of decades of support for undemocratic governments like the military-backed system that controlled Egypt under Mr. Mubarak.
But all were adamant that the arms cargo had not received any sanction from their leadership, whose standing in international opinion is precarious enough without this imbroglio.Mr Zinni maintained a public silence on the affair.
