With over 2,000 votes cast, Fred Thompson has a commanding lead in the VC straw poll. The vote, however, is quite fractured, with Thompson receiving only 23.1% of the vote, followed by Ron Paul, Barack Obama, and Rudy Guiliani at 18.2, 17.3, and 16.8%, respectively. Hillary trails badly at 7.1%, in a virtual tie with Mitt Romney, with John McCain, John Edwards, and Bill Richardson bringing up the rear. As an unscientific poll, this is generally meaningless, though it may say something about the eclectic views of VC readers. And, I'm proud to say, this may be the first on-line poll that Paul supporters haven't spammed (given that this is a libertarian leaning blog, 18.2% for Paul seems reasonable)!