Good numbers

At least if you are Gov. Riley.

In a Mobile Register - USA poll, Gov. Riley leads both of his potential Democrat opponents; he's up 46-31 over Don Siegelman and 44-33 over Lucy Baxley.

Roy Moore is tied with Siegelman 40-40, but would lose to Lucy Baxley 44-37.

Yeah, it's too early for polls to mean much, but this sounds pretty encouraging for Riley.

One kinda interesting thing to note about that poll:

Of those polled, 43 percent said identified themselves as Republicans when it comes to state politics, while 37 percent were Democrats, and 14 percent said they were independents or backed another party.

If that breakdown (43% Republican, 37% Democrat) is an accurate representation of Alabama voters - and there's no reason to believe that it's not - then all is well; but, if Republicans were oversampled, then Riley and Moore's numbers are likely to be be inflated.

Another thing - if that is accurate, it's yet another indication of the remarkable gains Republicans have made in Alabama over the past couple of decades, and it bodes well for them as they seek to take over the legistature in 2006.