The latest Los Angeles Times poll is out, and the news isn’t good for Barack Obama:
Barack Obama’s public image has eroded this summer amid a daily onslaught of attacks from Republican rival John McCain, leaving the race for the White House statistically tied, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released today.
Far more voters say McCain has the right experience to be president, the poll found. More than a third have questions about Obama’s patriotism.
The survey also illustrates some of the campaign’s racial undercurrents as the Illinois senator strives to become the first African American president. Most voters say they know at least some people who feel uneasy about electing a black president; 17% say the country is not ready to do so.
Still, the poll found that McCain faces serious obstacles. Voters favor Obama on the economy, the issue they rank as most important. McCain’s supporters remain less enthusiastic than those of his rival. And independents, a crucial swing bloc, are leaning toward Obama.
Also, the Republican Party’s dismal standing under President Bush remains a drag on McCain’s candidacy: 75% of voters say the country is seriously on the wrong track.
Overall, Obama holds a narrow edge over the Arizona senator, 45% to 43%, which falls within the poll’s margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. In June, Obama was ahead by 12 points. Other polls at that time showed him with a narrower lead.
More striking than the head-to-head matchup, however, is the drop in Obama’s favorable rating in the run-up to his selection of a running mate and the Democratic National Convention next week in Denver.
Obama’s favorable rating has sunk to 48% from 59% since the last Times/Bloomberg poll in June. At the same time, his negative rating has risen to 35% from 27%.
By comparison, McCain’s ratings have hardly budged during the same period: 46% of voters have a positive feeling about him; 38% give him negative ratings.
“All the negative attacks from the McCain campaign seem to have been paying off,” said Times Poll Director Susan Pinkus, who oversaw the survey.
So much for that cake walk, huh Barack ?
