H
Harry Dope
Guest
With everything being terrible because democrats say, war hero McCain is
still ahead in the polls. And when Clinton's people jump ship to vote
McCain, its all over for NObama.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
McCain even with Obama, leads Clinton: Reuters poll
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain runs
even with Democratic rival Barack Obama and narrowly leads Hillary Clinton
in potential match-ups in November, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll
released on Wednesday.
McCain was seen as a better steward of the economy than either Democrat
despite their repeated criticism of his economic credentials. He led Obama
by 3 points and Clinton by 5 points on the question of who would best manage
the economy.
In the Democratic race, Obama widened his national lead over Clinton to 51
percent to 38 percent, up from a 3-point edge in March, in polling taken
before a controversy erupted over Obama's comments about small-town
residents.
The two Democrats, battling for the right to face McCain in November's
presidential election, both gained ground on the Arizona senator nationally
in the last month although Obama fares slightly better in head-to-head
match-ups.
Obama pulled into a statistical tie with McCain at 45 percent after trailing
him by 6 points last month. Clinton trails McCain by 5 points, 46 percent to
41 percent, gaining slightly from an 8-point deficit last month.
"Obama still does better than Clinton against McCain, but it's a very close
race either way," pollster John Zogby said. "Obama and Clinton hurt each
other the longer their race drags on, and McCain is getting a free pass."
Heading into the next Democratic contest in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Obama
has been under heavy fire from Clinton and McCain for saying small-town
residents are bitter about the ailing economy and cling to religion, guns
and anti-immigrant bigotry in frustration.
The national poll, taken Thursday through Saturday, was nearly completed
before the Obama controversy erupted when his April 6 comments at a private
San Francisco fundraiser became public on Friday night. The furor's impact
on the Democratic race is unclear.
CYCLICAL RACE
Obama had gained ground on Clinton in the last month after weathering a
controversy over inflammatory statements by his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah
Wright, while Clinton came under fire for falsely claiming to have faced
sniper fire in Bosnia in 1996.
"Obama rebounded from the Reverend Wright situation and it was Clinton's
turn to get scrutinized," Zogby said. "Now it's back to Obama for the
small-town comments. This race has been very cyclical."
The poll found Obama made gains in the last month among at least two key
national constituencies that have sustained Clinton's bid. The Illinois
senator led among women, 48 percent to 42 percent, and among whites, 46
percent to 41 percent.
Obama also held big leads among men, blacks, young voters and high-income
voters. Clinton, a New York senator, led among the elderly, Hispanics and
voters with less than a high-school education.
Obama has been steadily narrowing the gap on Clinton in Pennsylvania, where
her sizable double-digit poll lead had dwindled to single digits in most
recent polls.
An Obama win in Pennsylvania could knock Clinton out of the race, while she
needs a big victory to make headway in her effort to overtake Obama in the
popular vote cast in state contests and pledged delegates to the nominating
convention.
With 10 contests remaining, Obama has a nearly unassailable lead in pledged
delegates, but neither candidate is likely to gain enough delegates to win
without help from nearly 800 Democratic Party officials and insiders who are
free to back any candidate.
The poll also gauged potential head-to-head match-ups if independent Ralph
Nader or possible Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, a former congressman, get
on the ballot. Nader drew 3 percent and Barr 2 percent in both national
match-ups.
McCain fared slightly worse against Obama with Barr and Nader in the race,
but their presence did not change his margin over Clinton.
The national survey of 532 likely Democratic primary voters had a margin of
error of 4.3 percentage points. The poll of the race between McCain and the
two Democratic contenders surveyed 1,049 likely voters with a margin of
error of 3.1 percentage points.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the
Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
--
"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."
still ahead in the polls. And when Clinton's people jump ship to vote
McCain, its all over for NObama.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
McCain even with Obama, leads Clinton: Reuters poll
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain runs
even with Democratic rival Barack Obama and narrowly leads Hillary Clinton
in potential match-ups in November, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll
released on Wednesday.
McCain was seen as a better steward of the economy than either Democrat
despite their repeated criticism of his economic credentials. He led Obama
by 3 points and Clinton by 5 points on the question of who would best manage
the economy.
In the Democratic race, Obama widened his national lead over Clinton to 51
percent to 38 percent, up from a 3-point edge in March, in polling taken
before a controversy erupted over Obama's comments about small-town
residents.
The two Democrats, battling for the right to face McCain in November's
presidential election, both gained ground on the Arizona senator nationally
in the last month although Obama fares slightly better in head-to-head
match-ups.
Obama pulled into a statistical tie with McCain at 45 percent after trailing
him by 6 points last month. Clinton trails McCain by 5 points, 46 percent to
41 percent, gaining slightly from an 8-point deficit last month.
"Obama still does better than Clinton against McCain, but it's a very close
race either way," pollster John Zogby said. "Obama and Clinton hurt each
other the longer their race drags on, and McCain is getting a free pass."
Heading into the next Democratic contest in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Obama
has been under heavy fire from Clinton and McCain for saying small-town
residents are bitter about the ailing economy and cling to religion, guns
and anti-immigrant bigotry in frustration.
The national poll, taken Thursday through Saturday, was nearly completed
before the Obama controversy erupted when his April 6 comments at a private
San Francisco fundraiser became public on Friday night. The furor's impact
on the Democratic race is unclear.
CYCLICAL RACE
Obama had gained ground on Clinton in the last month after weathering a
controversy over inflammatory statements by his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah
Wright, while Clinton came under fire for falsely claiming to have faced
sniper fire in Bosnia in 1996.
"Obama rebounded from the Reverend Wright situation and it was Clinton's
turn to get scrutinized," Zogby said. "Now it's back to Obama for the
small-town comments. This race has been very cyclical."
The poll found Obama made gains in the last month among at least two key
national constituencies that have sustained Clinton's bid. The Illinois
senator led among women, 48 percent to 42 percent, and among whites, 46
percent to 41 percent.
Obama also held big leads among men, blacks, young voters and high-income
voters. Clinton, a New York senator, led among the elderly, Hispanics and
voters with less than a high-school education.
Obama has been steadily narrowing the gap on Clinton in Pennsylvania, where
her sizable double-digit poll lead had dwindled to single digits in most
recent polls.
An Obama win in Pennsylvania could knock Clinton out of the race, while she
needs a big victory to make headway in her effort to overtake Obama in the
popular vote cast in state contests and pledged delegates to the nominating
convention.
With 10 contests remaining, Obama has a nearly unassailable lead in pledged
delegates, but neither candidate is likely to gain enough delegates to win
without help from nearly 800 Democratic Party officials and insiders who are
free to back any candidate.
The poll also gauged potential head-to-head match-ups if independent Ralph
Nader or possible Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, a former congressman, get
on the ballot. Nader drew 3 percent and Barr 2 percent in both national
match-ups.
McCain fared slightly worse against Obama with Barr and Nader in the race,
but their presence did not change his margin over Clinton.
The national survey of 532 likely Democratic primary voters had a margin of
error of 4.3 percentage points. The poll of the race between McCain and the
two Democratic contenders surveyed 1,049 likely voters with a margin of
error of 3.1 percentage points.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the
Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
--
"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."
