Obama advances in new polls

As the two presidential candidates, Sen John McCain and Sen Barack Obama, were in Washington voting through the bail-out bill in the Senate, nationwide polls showed Obama opening up a serious lead over his Republican rival.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday put Barack Obama on 51 per cent with John McCain on 44 per cent. The seven-point lead is the largest yet enjoyed by Obama.

The poll found that, nationally, Obama is viewed favorably by 58 per cent of voters, McCain's rating was 52 per cent, his lowest since June 15.

Obama leads 63 per cent to 32 per cent among voters who name the economy as the top voting issue, although McCain has a clear lead among those concerned with national security.

Elsewhere, a CBS News poll gives Obama 49 per cent of the vote among registered voters across the States against 40 per cent for McCain. The nine-point gap marks an increase of four percentage points for Obama since a similar poll a week ago. Among likely voters, Obama also leads by nine points, 50 per cent to 41 per cent.

A national poll by Time/CNN poll gives Obama a seven-point lead. It also shows likely voters backing Obama reaching the important 50 per cent threshold - for the first time since the presidential campaign began.

Crucially, both polls show the Obama-Biden team gaining support over McCain-Palin among women voters. In particular, the CBS poll shows enthusiasm for Sarah Palin waning as she prepares to face Joe Biden in tonight's vice-presidential debate. (While McCain went to Washington, she remained at his ranch in Arizona for intensive prepping.)

The CBS poll shows Palin's unfavorable rating (33 per cent) overtaking her favourable rating (32 per cent) for the first time. Only a week ago, Palin enjoyed an eight-point net positive rating. Joe Biden's favourable rating stands at 34 per cent and his unfavorable rating at 19 per cent.

The perception of Palin among women has dropped alarmingly. On September 8, Palin scored a 47 per cent favourable rating among women and a 19 per cent unfavourable rating; the new poll shows her favourable rating among the group has slipped to 30 per cent, while her unfavourable rating has shot up to 34 per cent.

The Time poll shows McCain losing female voters faster than Palin was attracting them at the time of the Republican party convention. Obama leads McCain among women by 55 per cent to 38 per cent, a gap of 17 points. Before the party conventions began in late August, the gap was only 10 points.

The nationwide polls come on top of crucial local polls, reported here yesterday, showing Obama pulling ahead of McCain in the swing states of Florida and Ohio.

FIRST POSTED OCTOBER 2, 2008