Source:
CBS NewsBoth Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hold slim leads over John McCain in a general-election match-up, according to a new CBS News poll. But McCain is doing better among independents than he was last month, and the presumptive Republican nominee has narrowed the gap between himself and Obama.
If the election were held today and Obama and McCain were the candidates, 48 percent of those surveyed say they would support Obama while 43 percent say they would support McCain. In February, Obama led McCain 50 percent to 38 percent.
If Clinton and McCain were the candidates, the New York senator receives 46 percent support to McCain's 44 percent.
In a turnaround from last month, McCain now leads both Obama and Clinton among independent voters. Obama led McCain by 10 points among this group last month, but he now trails by 8 points. Clinton trails McCain by 11 points among independents.
Obama has the highest favorable rating of the three candidates - 44 percent - followed by Clinton at 39 percent and McCain at 38 percent. Clinton, meanwhile, has the highest unfavorable rating at 41 percent, followed by McCain at 31 percent and Obama at 28 percent.
Read more:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/19/opinion/polls/main3951729.shtml
This poll was completed yesterday, meaning only a small number of interviews were conducted after Obama gave his speech on race relations on the Jeremiah Wright controversy.
The polls have been all over the place on just how badly the Wright matter hurt Obama, with this poll seeming to indicate the damage was real, but not too bad — though other polls have shown it to be somewhat worse.
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/