New poll...interesting results

A new poll of the presidential election in PA came out yesterday by Rasmussen/Fox News. The poll shows Obama up by 2 points over McCain with a error of +/-4.5% (so 9% total with 95% CI). Though there is more error in this poll than others, it is the smallest gain for Obama in 3 1/2 months from 10 different polls. 

Several others interesting facts were mentioned in the poll; they listed the economy as the most important issue among voters (as highlighted in my previous post), with national defense coming in a distant second.  Historically Dems have been more trusted with the economy, while the GOP for national defense. This is somewhat peculiar given the current slide by Obama.

Also very interesting is that McCain is considered more favorable than Obama. To me this doesn't make too much sense, as McCain is often a boring speaker, has little charisma, and is seen to be out of touch with today's youth. On the other hand, Obama seems to give the opposite impression. However, recent negative adds by McCain might have reversed this personality of Obama - or at least made the public believe he is a light weight. Not surprising Palin got the highest favorability ratings. As a self-described 'hockey mom', she seems down to earth and a true Washington outsider, which seems to resonate well with the people of Pennsylvania. Her good looks as well as reasonable speaking ability doesn't hurt either.

A worry some number for Obama was that of the 9% of undecided voters, the majority were democrats. Even worse only 74% of Dems support Obama. Considering how partisan politics is today, this is a dismal number for Obama. These poor showings could be attributed to disgruntled Clinton supporters as she did well in the state. If these people stay home it could spell trouble for Obama. However, if he is able to unite the party in the state, he should win handly.