Poll: Obama's lead over Clinton all but evaporated

[kfrost06]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama's big national lead over Hillary Clinton has all but evaporated in the U.S. presidential race, and both Democrats trail Republican John McCain, according a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

The poll showed Obama had only a statistically insignificant lead of 47 percent to 44 percent over Clinton, down sharply from a 14 point edge he held over her in February when he was riding the tide of 10 straight victories.

Illinois Sen. Obama, who would be America's first black president, has been buffeted by attacks in recent weeks from New York Sen. Clinton over his fitness to serve as commander-in-chief and by a tempest over racially charged sermons given by his Chicago preacher.

The poll showed Arizona Sen. McCain, who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, is benefiting from the lengthy campaign battle between Obama and Clinton, who are now battling to win Pennsylvania on April 22.

McCain leads 46 percent to 40 percent in a hypothetical matchup against Obama in the November presidential election, according to the poll.

That is a sharp turnaround from the Reuters/Zogby poll from last month, which showed in a head-to-head matchup that Obama would beat McCain 47 percent to 40 percent.

"The last couple of weeks have taken a toll on Obama and in a general election match-up, on both Democrats," said pollster John Zogby.

Matched up against Clinton, McCain leads 48 percent to 40 percent, narrower than his 50 to 38 percent advantage over her in February.

"It's not surprising to me that McCain's on top because there is disarray and confusion on the Democratic side," Zogby said

Obama gave a speech on Tuesday rebuking his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for sermons sometimes laced with inflammatory tirades but said he could not disown him and it was time for Americans to bind the country's racial wounds.

The poll showed Obama continues to have strong support from the African-American community but that he is experiencing some slippage among moderates and independents.

Among independents, McCain led for the first time in the poll, 46 percent to 36 percent over Obama.

He was behind McCain by 21 percent among white voters.

Zogby attributed this to a combination of the fallout from Clinton's victory in Ohio earlier this month and the controversy over Wright's sermons.

"And, just the closer he gets to the nomination, the tougher questions whites ask about an African-American candidate," Zogby said.

The March 13-14 poll surveyed 525 likely Democratic primary voters for the matchup between Clinton and Obama. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

For the matchup between McCain and his Democratic rivals, 1004 likely voters were surveyed. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

[Pooks]

Cool.. Go McCain go!

[Carlos_E]

On second thought

New Polling Shows 10-Point Improvement for Obama
Despite the chatter from the pundits and cable news commentators, Barack Obama has been surging in recent days. A new national poll shows a ten-point turnaround for Barack Obama over the last week. Down as much as seven points only days ago, Obama is now beating Hillary Clinton by three points, 48 to 45, showing a boost following his groundbreaking speech on race in America and his endorsement by Governor Bill Richardson.

Americans are reacting positively to Senator Obama’s speech, because real change means having a leader who will be candid about the challenges we face—including race—and who won’t shy away from taking them on, even when it’s not the politically safe thing to do. Governor Richardson echoed that sentiment in his endorsement of Obama on Friday.

[LawMan018]

So Originally Obama had McCain by 7%... However now McCain has an 8% lead over Obama hypothetically... And they say it has a margin error plus or minus 3.2 percent? They just proved themselves wrong...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama's big national lead over Hillary Clinton has all but evaporated in the U.S. presidential race, and both Democrats trail Republican John McCain, according a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

The poll showed Obama had only a statistically insignificant lead of 47 percent to 44 percent over Clinton, down sharply from a 14 point edge he held over her in February when he was riding the tide of 10 straight victories.

Illinois Sen. Obama, who would be America's first black president, has been buffeted by attacks in recent weeks from New York Sen. Clinton over his fitness to serve as commander-in-chief and by a tempest over racially charged sermons given by his Chicago preacher.

The poll showed Arizona Sen. McCain, who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, is benefiting from the lengthy campaign battle between Obama and Clinton, who are now battling to win Pennsylvania on April 22.

McCain leads 46 percent to 40 percent in a hypothetical matchup against Obama in the November presidential election, according to the poll.

That is a sharp turnaround from the Reuters/Zogby poll from last month, which showed in a head-to-head matchup that Obama would beat McCain 47 percent to 40 percent.

"The last couple of weeks have taken a toll on Obama and in a general election match-up, on both Democrats," said pollster John Zogby.

Matched up against Clinton, McCain leads 48 percent to 40 percent, narrower than his 50 to 38 percent advantage over her in February.

"It's not surprising to me that McCain's on top because there is disarray and confusion on the Democratic side," Zogby said

Obama gave a speech on Tuesday rebuking his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for sermons sometimes laced with inflammatory tirades but said he could not disown him and it was time for Americans to bind the country's racial wounds.

The poll showed Obama continues to have strong support from the African-American community but that he is experiencing some slippage among moderates and independents.

Among independents, McCain led for the first time in the poll, 46 percent to 36 percent over Obama.

He was behind McCain by 21 percent among white voters.

Zogby attributed this to a combination of the fallout from Clinton's victory in Ohio earlier this month and the controversy over Wright's sermons.

"And, just the closer he gets to the nomination, the tougher questions whites ask about an African-American candidate," Zogby said.

The March 13-14 poll surveyed 525 likely Democratic primary voters for the matchup between Clinton and Obama. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

For the matchup between McCain and his Democratic rivals, 1004 likely voters were surveyed. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

[soccer#3]

i cant wait for this election to be over

[Amorphic]

i cant wait for this election to be over

no kidding.

i just hope to hell mccain doesnt win.

between hillary, obama and mccain i would have to pick obama....though none of them leave me with a sense of confidence whatsoever.

[kfrost06]

no kidding.

i just hope to hell mccain doesnt win.

between hillary, obama and mccain i would have to pick obama....though none of them leave me with a sense of confidence whatsoever.

You don't even live in the USA. You need to worry about your own country and the pathetic healthcare system Canada has.

[Amorphic]

You don't even live in the USA. You need to worry about your own country and the pathetic healthcare system Canada has.

how many times does this need to be elaborated on?

The results of the US presidential election have consequences for my way of life as well.

Last time i checked Canada, while not perfect, is running a hell of a lot smoother than the US.

but yeah....you go ahead and sit on your high horse

[thegodfather]

You don't even live in the USA. You need to worry about your own country and the pathetic healthcare system Canada has.

Amorphic is a good guy...He supports Ron Pauls platforms and is a supporter of the US citizens keeping our civil liberties, that makes him ok in my book.

[soccer#3]

You don't even live in the USA. You need to worry about your own country and the pathetic healthcare system Canada has.

cmon dude that wasnt even called for.

[Carlos_E]

Amorphic is a good guy...He supports Ron Pauls platforms and is a supporter of the US citizens keeping our civil liberties, that makes him ok in my book.

And if he didn't support Ron Paul he couldn't give his opinion? Just the way you worded it.

[Amorphic]

cmon dude that wasnt even called for.

i didnt think so either.

[kfrost06]

how many times does this need to be elaborated on?

The results of the US presidential election have consequences for my way of life as well.

Last time i checked Canada, while not perfect, is running a hell of a lot smoother than the US.

but yeah....you go ahead and sit on your high horse

o.k. well then that leads me to ask, 1.) how is Canada "running a hell of a lot smoother than the US" and 2.) How does the US presidential election have consequences for your way of life? specifics please.

[kfrost06]

i didnt think so either.

What? You complain about the US on countless threads and I mention the Canadian healthcare being a failure which it is and you cry foul, typical liberal. Always willing to dish it out but unable to handle it the other way.

[Amorphic]

o.k. well then that leads me to ask, 1.) how is Canada "running a hell of a lot smoother than the US" and 2.) How does the US presidential election have consequences for your way of life? specifics please.

lets see.

for one, our economy is stronger. the US economy is barely surviving without profits from war profiteering and corruption.

the US housing market sucks, mortgages are out of control and people are hopelessly in debt from banks allowing them take out mortgages they cant afford.

secondly, who do you think is your main trading partner? open your eyes and you'd realize that there is a world outside of your tiny narrow minded conservative nutshell.

canada provides the US with staggering amounts of raw materials, for both building projects and power consumption. Without us, you americans would be struggling hard, yet your presidents seem to think canada can be treated like shit and throw tariffs on our softwood lumber and basically drive entire communities out of work.

[Amorphic]

What? You complain about the US on countless threads and I mention the Canadian healthcare being a failure which it is and you cry foul, typical liberal. Always willing to dish it out but unable to handle it the other way.

I dont complain about the US, i have a problem with war profiteering wars, corruption and mass deception your government spews out to the simple minded american who doesnt give a damn about these problems.

you go ahead and watch your bill o'reilly and fox news and spew your conservative rhetoric to someone who cares.....

apparently you've become the new logan13, i just hope tock and everyone else has the patience to deal with it since i certainly dont.

[kfrost06]

lets see.

for one, our economy is stronger. the US economy is barely surviving without profits from war profiteering and corruption.

wrong. Our economy is the strongest in the world, EVER! with a GDP of $13.543 trillion, Canada's is ranked 14th with a GDP of 1.2 trillion, right behind Mexico.

the US housing market sucks, mortgages are out of control and people are hopelessly in debt from banks allowing them take out mortgages they cant afford.

wrong again. mortgage interest rates are at all time lows and if someone spends more then they earn, too bad, you reap what you sow, don't go crying to the government to bale you out.

secondly, who do you think is your main trading partner? open your eyes and you'd realize that there is a world outside of your tiny narrow minded conservative nutshell.

if you're going to make personal comments like that stop crying when someone does it to you, o.k.? yes, Canada is our #1 trade partner and far as I know we are doing a good job paying for those resources.

canada provides the US with staggering amounts of raw materials, for both building projects and power consumption. Without us, you americans would be struggling hard, yet your presidents seem to think canada can be treated like shit and throw tariffs on our softwood lumber and basically drive entire communities out of work.

true again it's a mutaully beneficial trade otherwise it wouldn't exist. I do not know of any of the presidential canidates running on a platform for higher tariffs, fill me in on that if I am wrong.

[lotaquestions]

why would you want obama, is he going to give you something "free" that i got to pay for too?

[BgMc31]

ummmm Kfrost, your love for our country is admirable but in typical conservative style you refuse to acknowledge the negatives of our country as well. Canada's dollar used to be the butt of jokes here in the states. As a matter of fact, after my football career was done here in the States, I refused to play in Canada because $45k Canadian was like $37k American. Hardly enough to justify moving there. Now the Canadian dollar is worth more than our's is. Regardless of the factors, our country and its economy is in severe trouble and the main reason is the amount we are spending in Iraq. Those resources and dollars could have been spent in Afganistan.

This country is in trouble and sticking our head in the sand and electing another Bush symbiote is foolhearted at best.

[Carlos_E]

The Gallup Poll conducted March 27-29 with a margin of error of 3 percentage points shows the Illinois Senator has a 10 point lead over the New York Senator among Democrats, marking the first time since early February Gallup polls have shown either candidate with a double digit lead. In February, Gallup showed Clinton held an 11 percent advantage over Obama.

-------------

In a new Rasmussen poll in Pennsylvania (March 31, 730 Dem LV, MoE +/- 4%), Clinton's lead has been cut in half from a Rasmussen poll taken a week ago.

Clinton 47 (-2 vs. last poll, March 24)
Obama 42 (+3)
Undecided 11