McCain vs. Obama: The gloves come off
Posted: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 9:12 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Looking at yesterday’s tough back-and-forth, the New York Times’ Nagourney reminds us that both McCain and Obama promised better. “The change in tone formed a backdrop for the nationally televised debate between the two candidates on Tuesday night, the second of their three scheduled encounters. It comes when Mr. McCain is under increasing pressure to do something to turn around his campaign, with polls giving Mr. Obama an advantage in the race and in who Americans trust more to deal with the economy, the issue that now trumps all concerns.”
“Yet in shifting toward a more negative and personal message, the two campaigns risked seeming detached from the economic anxieties of voters at a time when the financial system is teetering. The risk could be especially great for Mr. McCain, who has ceded political ground to Mr. Obama during the financial crisis and has taken the more combative stance in recent days. A lacerating speech he gave Monday -- ‘Who is the real Barack Obama?’ Mr. McCain asked -- was shown on cable television juxtaposed with images of another horrible day on Wall Street.”
Tone deaf? The Los Angeles Times' Wallsten writes, "Both campaigns have long planned for this newly negative moment, but with the world embroiled in an economic meltdown, the script is taking unexpected turns -- and the old lines of attack could fall flat."
Here’s the Wall Street Journal’s write-up of the new NBC/WSJ poll: “Independent voters are starting to swing behind Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who continue to benefit from economic turmoil and the public response to their debate performances… Voters were much more likely to say they felt good about Sen. Obama's handling of the current economic crisis than they were to say the same of Sen. McCain. About one in three voters said they were ‘more reassured’ by Sen. Obama versus just 25% who said that about Sen. McCain. Even worse, 38% of poll participants reported being "less reassured" by Sen. McCain's approach.”
And here is ours: Fueled in part by the candidates' responses to the current economic crisis -- as well as their performances at the first debates -- Barack Obama has increased his national lead over John McCain, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Obama is ahead of McCain by six points, 49-43 percent, which equals his biggest lead in this poll. Two weeks ago, the Democratic nominee held a two-point advantage over his Republican counterpart, 48-46 percent.”
Meanwhile, a CNN poll shows Obama ahead of McCain nationally by eights points (53%-45%) among likely voters. “The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Monday afternoon suggests that the country's financial crisis, record low approval ratings for President Bush and a drop in the public's perception of McCain's running mate could be contributing to Obama's gains… That 8-point lead is double the 4-point lead Obama held in the last CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, taken in mid-September. Watch why the economy is hurting McCain.”
And new CBS poll has Obama up four points (47%-43%) among registered voters and three points (48%-45%) among likely voters.
