A week of economic crisis in Washington and on Wall Street has been very, very good for Barack Obama – at least in Michigan.
The Detroit Free Press/Local 4 Michigan Poll shows the Democratic senator from Illinois with a commanding lead of 13 points over Republican John McCain in the presidential race. Obama’s lead of 51% to 38% in the poll is nearly double the edge he had a month ago in a Michigan Poll taken just before the Democratic convention in Denver.
The poll showed momentum swinging clearly to Obama in almost every demographic. Among women, his lead is now 54%-35% -- eight points better than it was a month ago, before the Democratic and Republican national conventions and McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Among independents, Obama enjoys a 14-point lead.
As for what’s driving it – it’s the economy.
With the markets in distress, Washington policymakers scrambling to find a compromise bailout plan and taxpayers howling that they don’t want to be stuck with a $700 billion bill to help Wall Street financiers, Obama is reaping the benefit – so much so that Michigan could possibly be removed from the list of battleground states, even as the candidates have spent so much time in the state.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080925/NEWS15/80925082