Richard Tafoya
Oct 28th, 2008, 07:28 PM
LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-poll29-2008oct29,0,7008892.story
In Ohio, a state that has been battered for years by unemployment and plant closings, Obama is leading McCain by 49% to 40% among people likely to vote.
In Florida, a state that was considered a likely win for Republicans not long ago, McCain is trailing, 50% to 43%.
In both states, Obama, a Democrat, has opened commanding leads over McCain among women, young people, first-time voters and blacks and other minorities.
McCain is still viewed as far better equipped than Obama to deal with terrorism and the war in Iraq, because of his signature expertise in national security issues. But voters in Ohio and Florida do not see those issues as paramount, in light of the turmoil in the economy and on Wall Street.
The poll results undercut McCain's closing argument that Obama is no friend of working people such as "Joe the Plumber" -- the Toledo man who said he feared his taxes would rise if Obama were elected. Among registered voters in Ohio, the survey found, Obama won support from 52% of white, working-class voters, compared with 38% for McCain.
"Barack Obama understands Joe the Plumber better than John McCain," said Theresa Riddle, a 48-year-old Republican in Springfield, Ohio, who participated in the survey and spoke in a follow-up interview. "When John McCain talks about the economy, he says nothing."
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-poll29-2008oct29,0,7008892.story
In Ohio, a state that has been battered for years by unemployment and plant closings, Obama is leading McCain by 49% to 40% among people likely to vote.
In Florida, a state that was considered a likely win for Republicans not long ago, McCain is trailing, 50% to 43%.
In both states, Obama, a Democrat, has opened commanding leads over McCain among women, young people, first-time voters and blacks and other minorities.
McCain is still viewed as far better equipped than Obama to deal with terrorism and the war in Iraq, because of his signature expertise in national security issues. But voters in Ohio and Florida do not see those issues as paramount, in light of the turmoil in the economy and on Wall Street.
The poll results undercut McCain's closing argument that Obama is no friend of working people such as "Joe the Plumber" -- the Toledo man who said he feared his taxes would rise if Obama were elected. Among registered voters in Ohio, the survey found, Obama won support from 52% of white, working-class voters, compared with 38% for McCain.
"Barack Obama understands Joe the Plumber better than John McCain," said Theresa Riddle, a 48-year-old Republican in Springfield, Ohio, who participated in the survey and spoke in a follow-up interview. "When John McCain talks about the economy, he says nothing."