WaPo-ABC Daily Tracking Poll-itics: Obama has clear lead

By GottaLaff

GObama!
Democrat Barack Obama enters the final two weeks of the presidential campaign holding a clear lead over Republican John McCain, aided by voters' focus on the shaky economy and by their perceptions that he is better equipped to handle those problems than his rival. [...] The new survey shows Obama leading McCain by 53 percent to 44 percent among likely voters, little changed from a separate Post-ABC News poll released last Monday. Among all registered voters, Obama's lead is 10 percentage points, 52 percent to 42 percent. [...]

• Obama continues to benefit from an "enthusiasm gap," but McCain has narrowed the divide this week. 64 percent of Obama's backers are "very enthusiastic" about his candidacy; among McCain's, it's 40 percent (up from 31 percent before the final debate).
• Issues - Economy continues to dominate: 53 percent say it's issue No. 1, followed by health care at 9 percent, Iraq 7 percent, terrorism 6 percent and energy policy 4 percent. 19 percent said "something else."

Trust on issues

• Economy - Obama +16 (55-39), little changed from poll before final debate
• Taxes - Obama +10 (52-42), unchanged
• "Unexpected major crisis" - Obama +4 (49-45), down slightly from +9 (52-43), which had been Obama's first lead on the question

Attributes

• Better understands economic problems people are having - Obama +19 (55-36); here, McCain has trimmed what was a 31-point Obama advantage, with the change in McCain's direction almost entirely among independent white men.
• Clearer plan for dealing with economic situation - Obama +18 (50-32), new question.
• Would do more to change Washington - Obama +21 (56-35); here too, McCain has edged closer. Obama's margin was +34 before the debate. (Independent white men also the driving force here.)
• Stronger leader - Obama +8 (51-43). Still a strong-point for Obama, but less so than his 56-39 advantage in previous poll. (Independent white men, again.)
• More optimistic - Obama +32 (62-30), about as big as it was in late August
• Better personality and temperament - Obama +17 (54-37), similar to late Sept.
• Better represents your values - Obama +10 (53-43), his widest advantage of the campaign.
• More honest and trustworthy - Obama +8 (48-40), a minor tick up from last week for the Democrat.