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| McCain takes lead over Obama: poll |
| 2008-08-20 |
| In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday. McCain leads Obama among likely U.S. voters by 46 percent to 41 percent, wiping out Obama's solid 7-point advantage in July and taking his first lead in the monthly Reuters/Zogby poll. The reversal follows a month of attacks by McCain, who has questioned Obama's experience, criticized his opposition to most new offshore oil drilling and mocked his overseas trip. The poll was taken Thursday through Saturday as Obama wrapped up a weeklong vacation in Hawaii that ceded the political spotlight to McCain, who seized on Russia's invasion of Georgia to emphasize his foreign policy views. "There is no doubt the campaign to discredit Obama is paying off for McCain right now," pollster John Zogby said. "This is a significant ebb for Obama." McCain now has a 9-point edge, 49 percent to 40 percent, over Obama on the critical question of who would be the best manager of the economy -- an issue nearly half of voters said was their top concern in the November 4 presidential election. That margin reversed Obama's 4-point edge last month on the economy over McCain, an Arizona senator and former Vietnam prisoner of war who has admitted a lack of economic expertise and shows far greater interest in foreign and military policy. McCain has been on the offensive against Obama during the last month over energy concerns, with polls showing strong majorities supporting his call for an expansion of offshore oil drilling as gasoline prices hover near $4 a gallon. Obama had opposed new offshore drilling, but said recently he would support a limited expansion as part of a comprehensive energy program. That was one of several recent policy shifts for Obama, as he positions himself for the general election battle. But Zogby said the changes could be taking a toll on Obama's support, particularly among Democrats and self-described liberals. "That hairline difference between nuance and what appears to be flip-flopping is hurting him with liberal voters," Zogby said. Obama's support among Democrats fell 9 percentage points this month to 74 percent, while McCain has the backing of 81 percent of Republicans. Support for Obama, an Illinois senator, fell 12 percentage points among liberals, with 10 percent of liberals still undecided compared to 9 percent of conservatives. More at link. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #14 The telephone poll of 1,089 likely voters had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. I believe McCain has been leading likely voters for some time. Other polls showing a slight lead for Obama have been among registered voters. Though I would like to see the number of Dems, Reps, and Inds polled for any sampling bias. What I found most interesting is that falling liberal support is leading falling support among Dems. Events are forcing Obama to take a position on some issues and even the left is beginning to dislike what they see. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-08-20 17:26 |
| #13 Zogby can't be trusted, but other polls are showing similar results.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-08-20 17:06 |
| #12 If Zogby says the lead is 5-point, it is likely more than 10-point. OTOH, there are lies, damn lies and then polls and statistics. |
| Posted by: Spike Uniter 2008-08-20 16:59 |
| #11 Zogby is easily the least reliable of the major polling firms... Yeah. Ask President Kerry... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-08-20 16:36 |
| #10 Zogby is easily the least reliable of the major polling firms, but some others were showing upticks today, I hear. Eh. It's early yet. The McCain ground game stinks so far in comparison with Bush-Cheney '04. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2008-08-20 16:35 |
| #9 We want the Dimmocrats eating each other at the convention, we DO NOT want the Hildabeast pulling the carpet out from under The Zero. Her snatching (sorry) the nomination away from Obama would be a potential disaster for us. When Obama loses the General Election, the recriminations between the two camps should tear the Dimmocrat party apart. Yea! |
| Posted by: GDLotA9226 2008-08-20 15:24 |
| #8 Let's not rejoice too soon: fpr now it is only one poll and one institution. Zogby not Gallup. Zogby is Deùocrat but could ne that they are Clintonian and bad numbers before teh convention could end in a Haillary come-back. Let's not over rejoice but start looking for some AK47 ammo for the gun sex parade when MacCain is elected. |
| Posted by: JFM 2008-08-20 15:09 |
| #7 And this is in-spite of the MSMs open worship of the big ZERO. Hopefully OBama has flamed out too soon and people are beginning to actually engage their brains and look at his background and total lack of experience. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2008-08-20 14:22 |
| #6 It he is really the Obamessiah, let him SAVE HIMSELF! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-08-20 14:20 |
| #5 So, is Hillary sharpening her knife for a convention coup? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2008-08-20 14:19 |
| #4 Quagmire! |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2008-08-20 14:05 |
| #3 You don't want too big of a lead in the polls or people will stay home on election day thinking it is in the bag. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-08-20 13:40 |
| #2 Thank Vlad. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-08-20 13:30 |
| #1 squeeeaaal, little piggies! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-08-20 13:06 |