The early poll surveys are in: Wisconsin Democrats dig Hillary and Republicans like Fred.

In the latest Badger Poll, conducted by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center, Hillary Clinton was the top pick of 39 percent of the Democratic-leaning, potential voters surveyed. Barack Obama was the choice of 26 percent. John Edwards was the only other Dem with double-digit approval at 15 percent. Joe Biden brought up the rear at two percent.

In the big tent of the Grand Old Party, Badger Republicans bucked big-time the campaign of Mike Huckabee, which has garnered national attention since he started showing up on the radar in Iowa.

A surprising 30 percent of Republican voters liked Fred Thompson, with Rudy Giuliani closing in at 25 percent. John McCain got 15 percent of those surveyed, while Huckabee came in fourth with eight percent. Ron Paul, the dark horse Congressman from Texas, raked in four percent.

The Badger Poll also queried voters about their impressions of the candidates. Among self-proclaimed independents, Clinton is the largest polarizer, leaving 50 percent of the surveyed with an unfavorable impression.

Obama was deemed most favorable to independents. Among Democrats, Clinton topped the unfavorable list with 17 percent indicating a negative impression, while she also garnered the most favorable status at 73 percent.

Independents didn't have strong opinions about Republicans, with Rudy Giuliani topping the negatives list at 29 percent and McCain and Giuliani getting 54 percent of the favorable opinions. Among Republicans, McCain elicited unfavorable impressions with 44 percent of the respondents while Giuliani had 78 percent feeling favorable towards him.

Organized Labor Goes to the Classroom: The history of organized labor is underreported in terms of its importance on the landscape of America. The 40-hour workweek, health benefits, OSHA, and even Taft-Hartley wouldn't exist if it weren't for unions and organized labor. The state Senate is considering a bill that would mandate labor history as part of the school curriculum. A cavalcade of union leaders testified last week in front of the Senate Education Committee, all pointing out the unsung achievements of the union movement.

"We were the first state to enact an unemployment insurance law. We paved the way for a strong workers compensation law that became the standard across the U.S.," said Susan McMurray, legislative representative for AFSCME. "Anyone who participates in the Wisconsin Retirement Systems owes gratitude to Mrs. Ingeborg Sidwell, who worked 23 years scrubbing the floors of the state Capitol.

"It was Mrs. Sidwell who went directly to Governor Walter S. Goodland when she heard he had vetoed the pension law. So persuasive was Mrs. Sidwell about the need to protect older workers that Gov. Goodland sent a message to lawmakers asking them to override his own veto. That is the story of how our state pension system came to be. This is labor history."

Organized Labor at the Chalkboard: Speaking of organized labor, UW System faculty members are among the few in the region that do not have collective bargaining rights as do other states' public university faculty.

The effort to get that right has taken many a name, but mostly it's known as The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals. It's been a tough battle for the effort, since some professors don't presume to view themselves as workers and neither does the UW administration. Milwaukee state Rep. Jon Richards has joined with state Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) in proposing that faculty get collective bargaining rights.

"This bill is a no-brainer and I am glad it's being introduced," Richards said. "All we are doing is allowing academic faculty and staff the chance to organize if they want to. It's a common sense way to even the playing field."

As of now, 29 states extend collective-bargaining rights to faculty and professional staff employed at two-year and four-year public higher education institutions. Currently, each of Wisconsin's border states extends collective bargaining rights to university faculty and professional staff.

Attendance is important: Quorum can be an important issue when public bodies convene to decide the fates of businesses.

In the case of the tavern licenses for Chaser's Pub and Club Escape, it literally kept them open. Milwaukee Ald. Willie Wade was conspicuously absent from a special Licenses Committee meeting last week (he missed another this week) and his being MIA turned into the big event.

Chaser's Pub was under attack by Ald. Tony Zielinski after several drug busts went down at the Bay View bar in late summer.

"The bottom line is that this is a drug bar," Zielinski told the panel. Two aldermen wanted to suspend the tavern's license for more than two months and two did not. Zielinski wanted the joint closed. That matter will be decided in January when the committee is expected to have perfect attendance.

As for Club Escape, the costs of the attorneys alone should keep the place open. It's under review because of a recent Old West style shoot-out in the parking lot between patrons and security. Owner Thomas McNeal hired some of the highest priced legal talent to help him keep his license. Attorney Franklyn Gimbel sat at the table while his partner, Michael Guiren, looked over his shoulder.

Ald. Ashanti Hamilton wanted the bar closed, but McNeal gets to keep his license until January for certain since the committee broke quorum despite having a packed hearing room full of spectators and people who wanted to testify on the matter.

Boarding Could be Banned in Janesville: Skateboarding is the bane of many property owners who want to keep the edges of their concrete crisp and not rounded. Just ask the security staff at the Northwestern Mutual campus Downtown. The Janesville business district is fed up with the task of dealing with boards and wants to rid them from the landscape entirely. Under a proposed ban, skateboarding would be banned everywhere in Downtown Janesville, including streets, sidewalks and public and private property. State law already bans skateboarding on city streets.