As we have said since long before her initial (official) announcement (a year and a half of not so stealthy rants in the general direction of incumbent Governor Rick Perry do not a sanctioned filing make), Madame Comptroller Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn would end up being the default Donkey for the Lone Star Democrat faithful in this year's bout of Gubernatorial wishful thinking.

Bereft of any hope of winning a statewide race, and thus any in-name in-Party candidate worthy of serious consideration, they would gather in droves around their once and ostensible future fellow Burro, the woman who is One Tough Monogram.

And today we have the polling numbers that make our July 26th, 2005, prediction a statistical Reality.

The headline says it all, "Democrats trail in poll as Strayhorn moves up".

And next we arrive at the most telling of excerpts,

The Old Elephantary Primary

The poll conducted last week by New Jersey-based Rasmussen Reports also shows Strayhorn within 9 percentage points of Perry, 10 points closer than in a similar survey conducted by Rasmussen in January.

In January, of course, Madame Comptroller was still a Republican primary candidate, squaring off one-on-one against Governor Perry, so there was no Democrat portion of the polling sample to rally around the woman of difficult sweater letterhead.

Then, reading the tea leaves that were floating more than two-to-one against her grain, she chose to abandon the Republican ship, on which she never truly found her sea legs, and attempt to find landfall in an Independent candidacy.

This latest of polling data was posited on a prospective four way race, with Democrat respondents for the first time able to avail themselves of a Madame Comptroller casting. (The ostensive field was filled out by the Democrat candidate [either Chris Bell or Bob Gammage] and mediocre chanteur Kinky Friedman.)

So, as expected, these Donkeys are pacing apace to the new choice at their disposal. And Madame Comptroller is now finally able to avail herself of the Burros she was initially trying to bait into the Elephantary primary.

The Good Ship Strayhorn Reaches Landfall on Independent

Having failed to draw them into those unfriendly waters, she decided instead to join them in the general swim. Thus her slight upward tick in what were otherwise static Gubernatorial numbers.

(Not quite total otherwise stasis, as the 20% bloom is beginning to fall off the Friedman rose. He is now down to 8%. This may be partly attributable to some to-Strayhorn defectors, but most of it is reflective of the unseriousness of the candidate, which will continue to cost him ever more dearly the closer we get to the real voting.)

This new poll is, in actuality, nothing more than the same old Lone Star Governor story. In other words, a reelection is still most assuredly in the offing.