Poll: Obama Leads; Interest In Debate High
CBS/NYT Survey Finds Obama Leading McCain By 5 Points With Three In Ten Uncommitted; Majority "Very Likely" To Watch Debate
Sept. 25, 2008
(CBS) With 40 days left until the election, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads GOP rival John McCain 47 percent to 42 percent among registered voters in a new CBS News/New York Times poll. The five-point difference mirrors the findings in a CBS/NYT poll last week. Likely voters also favor Obama by five points, 48 percent to 43 percent.
Three in ten registered voters say they are uncommitted to a candidate, up from 26 percent last week.
Interest in tomorrow's scheduled first presidential debate is high. Sixty-four percent of registered voters say they are "very likely" to watch the debate, which McCain has proposed delaying so that the candidates can focus on the financial crisis. Obama has said the debate should go on as planned. Less than one in ten registered voters say they are not likely to watch the debate.
The poll was conducted between Sept. 21st and Sept. 24th, largely before McCain proposed delaying the debate and announced that he was suspending his campaign.
Enthusiasm for both candidates has cooled, though Obama still holds a significant edge over his rival. Fifty-three percent of Obama supporters support the Democratic nominee enthusiastically, down eight points from last week. Thirty-six percent of McCain supporters back their candidate enthusiastically, a drop of 11 points from last week.
Obama leads McCain with women, moderates, Democrats, and younger voters. Sixty-one percent of those who voted for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary back the Illinois senator, while one in four former Clinton supporters back McCain.
McCain has the edge with men, conservatives, and whites, including white men and white Catholics. The race is even among white women.
Independents now break to the GOP nominee 43 percent to 39 percent. This swing group has lived up to its name: Obama had a five point edge with Independents last week, while McCain was winning their support after the GOP convention.
Though Friday's debate is scheduled to focus on foreign policy, voters appear to be more interested in domestic economic issues. Asked what they hope to learn from the debate, 18 percent said they want to learn about the candidates' plans for the economy; just 4 percent cited the war in Iraq, and even fewer pointed to foreign policy more generally. The top issue cited, at 29 percent, was the all-encompassing "positions on the issues."
<SNIP>
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/25/opinion/polls/main4478890.shtml#
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
