Obama's Pa. lead holds in latest poll

CALAMITOUS FINANCIAL news and a solid performance in the first presidential debate have helped Barack Obama maintain a lead in Pennsylvania, according to the latest Franklin & Marshall College/

Daily News

poll.

Democrat Obama leads Republican John McCain 45 percent to 38 percent among registered voters with 14 percent still undecided. In an August poll, Obama led McCain 44 percent to 36 percent.

"If McCain wants to win this state, there has to be a breakthrough moment," said pollster G. Terry Madonna. "There's no doubt in my mind that the economy and the debate have helped Obama."

Three national polls released yesterday showed Obama with a six-point lead nationwide in the presidential race.

The Franklin & Marshall poll included interviews conducted after the first presidential debate on Friday.

Madonna said that although the overall numbers haven't changed much since August, the climate appears to be growing more favorable for Obama in the state.

"When we look at this poll, we don't see a seismic change, but there are little interesting things that show a more favorable environment for Obama," he said, noting concerns with the economy and dissatisfaction with President Bush.

Voters listed the economy as their top issue. Two out of five voters said that they had experienced a pay cut in the past year, and one in 10 said that they lacked health insurance.

Obama appears to be winning over voters on domestic issues.

Asked who best understands the concerns of ordinary Americans, 61 percent said Obama and 28 percent said McCain. And on who is best equipped to handle the economy, 46 percent said Obama and 37 percent said McCain.

But McCain still is favored on foreign policy and experience. On Iraq, 47 percent said that McCain would best handle the situation and 43 percent said Obama. And 57 percent said that McCain has the experience to be president, while just 28 percent said that Obama does.

Obama showed growth among one group that has proved worrisome for his candidacy: White working-class voters.

They still favored McCain by 2 percentage points, but that's a smaller margin than in August, when McCain led by 6.

Meanwhile, dislike of Bush hit a five-year high. Fifty-six percent of voters said that the president was doing a poor job; 1 percent said he was doing an excellent job.

On the direction the country is headed, 82 percent said that the nation was on the wrong track.

Most voters said that they supported government help to weather the nation's financial woes - 71 percent said that their problems could be solved with the help of government, while 22 percent said that the problems were beyond what government can do.

The white vote was closely split, with 43 percent supporting McCain and 40 percent supporting Obama. Among non-whites, 84 percent backed Obama and 5 percent McCain.

Among women, Obama led with 53 percent to McCain's 32 percent. McCain drew 47 percent of the male vote, while Obama got 35.

Catholics favored Obama, giving him 45 percent of the vote and McCain 38 percent. But 48 percent of Protestants went for McCain compared with 36 percent for Obama.*