Three days out from Tuesday’s debate, it’s looking more and more like it did next to nothing to change the fact that Barack Obama is the front-runner in the race for the White House.
In the Rasmussen tracking poll, Obama has a five-point lead over McCain:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows Barack Obama attracting 50% of the vote while John McCain earns 45%. Those figures are unchanged from yesterday and mark the fifteenth straight day that Obama’s support has ranged from 50% to 52% while McCain has been at 44% of 45% (see trends).
Obama is viewed favorably by 55%, McCain by 54% (see trends). Thirty-eight percent (38%) have a Very Favorable opinion of Obama while 30% have a Very Unfavorable view. For McCain, the numbers are 26% Very Favorable and 26% Very Unfavorable.
Which seems to be an indication that, so far at least, the Ayers attacks aren’t hurting Obama’s favorable ratings.
In the Gallup Poll, Obama has a ten point lead over McCain and continues a streak that has lasted over two weeks:
PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama has a 51% to 41% lead over John McCain in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking report involving interviewing conducted Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights.
These results show little major change in the basic structure of the race, although McCain did somewhat better in Thursday night interviewing, suggesting the possibility that the race may have some fluidity in the days ahead. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.)
The major news of the day is the economic crisis and its dramatic effect on the world’s financial markets, which to some degree drowns out the typical campaign back and forth that characterizes the presidential race at this point. About half of Americans indicate in Gallup’s economic tracking measures that they personally had worried about money the day before they were interviewed, underscoring the major impact the economy is having on Americans’ lives and the degree to which their presidential choice may be filtered through the prism of economic angst.
The results from the Zogby Tracking Poll, which shows Obama head by five points, and the Hotline Tracking Poll, which shows Obama ahead by seven points, are largely consistent with what we’re seeing from Rasmussen and Gallup.
What’s clear from all of this is that Tuesday’s debate did nothing to change the race, and that’s bad news for John McCain. At this point, he’s got one last chance at next Wednesday’s debate but even that is likely to be too little too late.
