. McCain�s surge follows a month in which he has aggressively portrayed Obama as an out-of-touch elitist and celebrity not prepared to be President. McCain also continues to accuse Obama of being willing to lose in Iraq in order to win the election. While Obama was on vacation last week, McCain took the spotlight, talking tough about Russia�s military action against the Republic of Georgia. Pollster John Zogby: �Since Obama returned from his overseas trip, it seems like McCain has thrown all the punches. Clearly, the blows have landed. In recent days, Obama is fighting back, going after McCain on the economy, the issue voters care about most. McCain has changed the dynamic of the race heading into the two conventions. That puts more pressure on Obama to go to Denver and effectively define himself and McCain.�
Here is how voters rated issues most important to them in choosing a President: economy 47%, War in Iraq 12%, energy prices 8%, healthcare 7%, threat of attack on the U.S. 6%, immigration 5% and the environment 4%. Obama wins 83% of the Democratic vote, compared to 79% of Republicans who support McCain in a four-way race. In a two-way contest, Obama wins 85% support from his base of Democrats, while McCain wins 83% support among Republicans.
The race is close among independent voters, this latest online survey shows - Obama wins 37% support, compared to 32% support for McCain. Barr, a former Republican congressman now running as the Libertarian candidate for President, wins 14% support of the independent vote, while liberal Ralph Nader is supported by 4%, and another 9% are undecided or favor someone else.
As the military and political pot continues to boil over in the former Soviet territory-turned-democracy of Georgia in Eastern Europe, likely voters here at home give Republican McCain a slight nod over Democrat Obama in the areas of foreign policy, the Iraq war specifically, and the war on terrorism. Meanwhile, Obama is seen as the leader better suited to managing domestic problems, as this chart shows: McCain gained 20% and Obama lost 16% among voters ages 18-29. Obama still leads that group, 49%-38%.
Among women, McCain closed 10 points on Obama, who still leads by a 43%-38% margin.
Obama has lost what was an 11% lead among Independents. He and McCain are now tied.
Obama had some slippage among Democrats, dropping from 83% to 74%.
Obama�s support among single voters dropped by 19%, and he now leads McCain, 51%-37%.
Even with African-Americans and Hispanics, Obama shows smaller margins.
Pollster John Zogby: �The McCain camp seems to have turned lemons into lemonade. Huge crowds and mostly favorable press reviews of Obama�s overseas trip have been trumped by McCain�s attacks on Obama. Loss of support for Obama among young voters may also be due to his perceived reversals on issues they care about, such as the war and government eavesdropping.� Adding minor presidential candidates, including Independent Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr to the equation, both minor candidates garner three percent support and Obama�s lead over McCain jumps to 10 points, 46% to 36%. Barr earns the most support from political independents (7%), those age 18 to 29 (8%), weekly Wal-Mart shoppers (7%), those who attend religious services on a weekly basis (7%) and men (6%). Nader finds the most support with women (5%), weekly Wal-Mart shoppers (6%), those age 18 to 24 (6%), and those living in Western states (6%). . . . .
