Poll shows that Americans are figuring out what a whack job McCain is

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/1227321,voter-poll-mccain-obama-101708.article

Poll: Voters souring on McCain

October 17, 2008

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON---- When it comes to the public's image of John McCain, it's as if somebody dialed the electricity down in the past month. For Barack Obama, the juice is still flowing.

People's regard for the Republican presidential nominee has deteriorated across the board since September, an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll showed Friday, with McCain losing ground in how favorably he's seen and in a long list of personal qualities voters seek in White House contenders.

Perceptions of Obama have improved or remained steady. Beyond views of the two rivals' character traits, McCain faces another problem -- Obama is more trusted on the economy, the contest's commanding issue, including a 15 percentage-point edge for better grasping how the raging financial crisis is affecting people.

Obama's image has been sturdy even as voters' views of the overall campaign have tumbled since September. The portion of people saying the contest excites them has sunk to 32 percent while those calling it frustrating have grown to 41 percent -- and in both cases, six in 10 of those whose feelings have worsened are McCain backers.

Negative campaigning and a month of intense public focus on collapsing global economic and financial markets have not been kind to McCain. The new AP-Yahoo News poll of likely voters, conducted this month by Knowledge Networks, shows more people viewing him favorably than unfavorably by just 5 percentage points, down from a 21-point difference in mid-September.

During the same period, Obama went the other way, increasing a 5 percentage-point net favorable rating to 15 points. Now, Obama is seen favorably by 57 percent and McCain by 52 percent -- a close margin that masks the opposite direction the two rivals' ratings are heading.

''He kind of scared me,'' Leesa Zick, 48, an undecided Republican from Edwardsville, Ill., said of McCain's abrupt and short-lived suspension of his campaign last month during Capitol Hill talks on a financial rescue package. ''We need a president who can deal with multiple tasks. It seemed like it overwhelmed him.''

[Kolesar]

1. Because you modified the title, you couldn't put the post in LBN

But I like your title a lot better! :rofl:

[gratuitous]

2. Golly, who'da thunk it?

But I'll bet a dollar to a hole in a doughnut that, after the election when McCain gets his pasty white ass handed to him, some yammering dunce on one of the cable shows will say it's because McCain didn't go negative enough.

[TahitiNut]

3. Both the Tribune and Sun-Times have endorsed Obama ... first time in history both have endorsed a D

It's not just because he's from Chicago, either. They've never both endorsed a Chicago Democrat.

[Zomby Woof]

4. The L. A. Times also endorsed their first Democrat

And they swore off presidential endorsements after their plug for Nixon in 1972. These are extraordinary times, indeed.