A Good Time to Be John McCain: Very interesting turnaround for McCain's campaign

[wyldwolf]

It ain't over 'til it's over, huh?

A man whose Presidential campaign was left for dead last summer has picked up a round of significant endorsements from the Manchester Union Leader, the Des Moines Register, the Boston Globe, and Senator Joe Lieberman.

He has the highest favorable rating (52%) and the smallest number committed to voting against him (33%) of any Presidential candidate in either party (see key stats for all Republican and Democratic candidates). In the wake of his recent endorsements, McCain has moved into third place in Iowa and within a few points of the lead in New Hampshire.

As a bonus, the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows McCain with a two-point advantage over Illinois Senator Barack Obama in a general election match-up (see crosstabs). The two candidates were tied at 44% in late November. McCain also has a two-point edge over Hillary Clinton.

The battle between Senator McCain and Senator Obama has been very close in recent months. In fact, over the past three months, four polls have found McCain’s support holding between 43% and 45% while Obama’s range has been virtually identical—43% to 46%. The average of the last three polls show the candidates tied, 44% to 44% (see history of this match-up).

That’s quite a change from the summer when McCain was catching flak for his vigorous support of a very unpopular immigration bill. At that time, Obama led the Republican hopeful by as many as nine points. During that stretch, McCain’s favorable ratings fell below the 50% mark in his home state. However, the most recent polling in Arizona shows that his reputation has recovered.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/a_good_time_to_be_john_mccain