"Poll: Obama Retakes Lead Over McCain; CBS News/New York Times Survey Shows Democrat With 5 Point Advantage; Voters Express Concerns About GOP V.P. Pick Sarah Palin
(CBS) In a sign that John McCain's convention bounce has dissipated, Barack Obama has taken a 48 percent to 43 percent lead over his Republican rival among registered voters in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll.
Obama's advantage can be traced in part to independents, who favored Obama in late August, swung to McCain just after the Republican convention, and have now returned to Obama. Obama now leads McCain among independents 46 percent to 41 percent.
This is how you rig an election, huh?
Obama now also leads McCain among women, a group that favored McCain by five points in polling taken just after the Republican convention, where Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin became the second woman ever to be nominated to a major party ticket.
Obama leads McCain 54 percent to 38 percent among all women. He holds a two point edge among white women, a 21 percentage point swing in Obama's direction from one week ago.
While Palin remains popular among McCain voters, the poll suggests that the McCain campaign may have cause for concern. More than half of registered voters do not think Palin is prepared for the job of Vice President, and even McCain supporters cite “inexperience” as what they like least about her.
Palin’s favorable rating stands at 40 percent, down 4 points from last week. Her unfavorable rating, which stands at 30 percent, has risen eight points in the same time period. Her favorable rating among women has fallen 11 points in the past week.
Still, one in four registered voters who were Clinton supporters in the primary say they plan to support the McCain-Palin ticket in November.
While both Obama and McCain are now vying for the mantle of change agent in this election, Obama is seen by a far higher percentage of voters as likely to bring real change to Washington if elected President. Sixty-five percent of registered voters say Obama would bring real change, while just 37 percent say the same of McCain. Nearly 60 percent of voters say McCain would not bring change.
The differing views of the two candidates are driven largely by the differing views held by independent voters.
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