By analyzing the traffic of visitors to candidate sites in September who also frequented top liberal and conservative blogs, Compete came up with a ranking of candidates from most liberal to most conservative. The ratings didn't produce any huge surprises: Dennis Kucinich emerged as most liberal and Fred Thompson as most conservative.

But for anyone who viewed Hillary Clinton as a far-left liberal, the results challenged that view by placing her in the middle of the pack among all candidates. Clinton rated as more conservative than her Democratic rivals as well as Republican candidate Ron Paul.

"Clinton is campaigning beyond her base to the broader electorate as though she has already secured her party's nomination," wrote Compete analyst Matt Pace on the company blog.

He notes that Ron Paul's crossover into more liberal territory in the rankings reflects the significant interest he has generated on the left, especially among the Netroots.

The analysis also points out that Thompson's formal entry into the race in September unleashed a wave of support among conservatives who see him as their best hope. The former U.S. Senator from Tennessee had the highest site traffic last month of any candidate. But Pace warns that the novelty already seems to be wearing off Thompson's campaign.

"While he got a bump in September, based on recent data we're seeing, he has not been successful in building, let alone sustaining, any momentum post-announcement," Pace wrote. "If trends continue, I'd anticipate Fred's unique visitor counts in October dropping 60-70%." That probably never happened to his ratings on "Law & Order."

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