Poll-itics: Obama still ahead

By GottaLaff

Washington Post-ABC News poll :

3. If the 2008 presidential election were being held today and the candidates were (Barack Obama, the Democrat) and (John McCain, the Republican), for whom would you vote?

7/13/08 

 Obama   McCain
     50      42 

Overall Obama holds an 8-point advantage among registered voters across the nation, lifted by a big advantage among women voters, and he has also regained an edge among political independents. But it is Obama's lead on the economy that has become a particularly steep challenge for McCain. [...]

The overall political climate still bodes poorly for Republicans this fall, but the presidential race is relatively close in part because of persistent doubts about both candidates. Nearly three-quarters said some things about McCain worry them and nearly two-thirds said so of Obama. [...]

Overall, though, there are still holdouts among those who backed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) in the Democratic primaries. In the new poll, 23 percent of those who wanted Clinton to prevail said they would vote for McCain, about the same level of threatened defection as in Post-ABC polls since early March. But those Clinton backers who do back Obama are not doing so begrudgingly, as 75 percent of them said their vote is more pro-Obama than anti-McCain.

Among independents, the new poll shows Obama with a 49 to 40 percent lead. Last month they were essentially tied among independents.

Obama now leads by a 2-to-1 margin among voters aged 18 to 34. Among seniors, 45 percent support McCain, 40 percent Obama.

Among all white voters, McCain has a 50-to-42 percent advantage, while 94 percent of African Americans back Obama. The two are tied among whites earning less than $50,000, while McCain leads by 10 percentage points among those earning more than that.

We'll see if today's speech on foreign policy helps Obama, who as of this poll, still has some work to do in the area of national security (see poll).