Posted on Wed, Oct. 29, 2008
Poll shows Obama with 13-point lead over McCain in Pa.
By DAVE DAVIES
Philadelphia Daily News
Despite numerous appearances in the Keystone State over the past month, Republican John McCain trails Democrat Barack Obama in Pennsylvania by 13 points, according to the latest Franklin & Marshall/Daily News poll.
The survey found Obama leading McCain 53 to 40 percent among likely voters. The margin was similar among all registered voters, with Obama holding a 51 to 39 percent lead.
"The race shows a lot of stability," said poll director Terry Madonna. "Obama is very well positioned to win the state, unless McCain has a breakthrough moment."
The poll shows Obama with a significant lead among women, voters under 35, and independents.
McCain is ahead among white men and well ahead among fundamentalist Christians.
But Madonna said McCain's real problem is a four-letter word: Bush.
"In the last debate, he said 'I'm not George Bush,' and since then he's actually criticized the president," Madonna said. "But 51 percent of the voters in our poll said they believe he would continue the economic polices of George Bush."
"That's a problem he just can't seem to shake," Madonna said.
Forty-four percent of those surveyed said they were financially worse off than they were a year ago. Only 14 percent said their finances had improved.
Eighty-one percent said the country is on the wrong track, and only 18 percent approved of the way Bush is handling his job.
"When McCain has this strong identification with Bush, the real question was when Barack Obama would become acceptable to a large number of voters," Madonna said, "and that's gradually taken place since the convention."
There was a little good news in the poll for McCain. Voters still found by 57 to 31 percent that McCain was the candidate with the best experience to be president, and they chose him by 50 to 38 percent as the candidate who would best protect the country against terrorism.
Voters favored Obama on a host of domestic issues, and they said by a 48 to 44 percent margin that he's the candidate best able to handle the situation in Iraq.
The poll found Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's unfavorable ratings have risen from 33 percent to 41 percent since the September F&M survey.
Madonna said Palin hasn't been a big asset to the ticket in Pennsylvania.
"She's helped McCain among core Republican voters," Madonna said, "but I don't think she's helped in the suburbs, where voters are more moderate, more secular, and more pro-choice." *
To see the entire poll, go to
http://go.philly.com/fmpollhttp://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20081029_Poll_shows_Obama_with_13-point_lead_over_McCainin_Pa_.htmlBONUS QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"Barack Obama understands Joe the Plumber better than John McCain," said Theresa Riddle, a 48-year-old Republican in Springfield, Ohio, who participated in the survey and spoke in a follow-up interview. "When John McCain talks about the economy, he says nothing."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-poll29-2008oct29,0,1517809.storyOther goodies found at the original Daily Kos post HERE:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/29/45417/748/456/645349
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