Obama extends lead over McCain
Thursday, 09 Oct 2008 17:41
Barack Obama moves further away from John McCain in opinion polls with less than four weeks to go in White House race
Barack Obama is moving away from John McCain in the polls with less than four weeks to go before the United States elects a new president.
According to the latest tracking poll, the Democratic nominee has widened the gap between him and his Republican rival by two percentage points to four per cent.
Thursday's Reuters/C-Span/Zogby poll put Mr Obama on 48 per cent, with Mr McCain behind on 44 points.
On Tuesday night the two men held the second of three presidential debates, with Mr Obama widely perceived to have gotten the better of his opponent.
Fifty-four per cent of CNN viewers said the Illinois senator had come out on top, compared to 30 per cent who said Mr McCain, 72, had won.
Crucially for the Obama campaign, his support among independents and women has risen since the Nashville, Tennessee, town hall-format debate.
His advantage among undecided voters is up four points to 13, while among women it rose two points to nine.
The rise has been partly attributed to one of Mr McCain's more awkward moments in Tuesday's debate, when he referred to Mr Obama, 47, with a glance of his head and the words "that one".
Several audience members visibly winced at the turn of phrase.
"Obama seems to be doing well among the groups that he really needs like women and independents," said pollster John Zogby.
"McCain needs to do much better with them."