Obama up in new Reuters/Zogby poll; gains ground among Independents, women

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT/Reuters: Obama Leads McCain By 2 Points: Reuters Poll
By REUTERS
Published: September 17, 2008

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama has a 2-point lead in the U.S. presidential race on Republican John McCain, whose choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate helped shore up support for both candidates, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Obama leads McCain among likely voters by 47 percent to 45 percent, within the poll's 3.1 percent margin of error. He gained ground in the last month among independent and women voters and on the question of who could best manage the faltering U.S. economy.

Obama wiped out McCain's 5-point edge in a Reuters/Zogby poll taken in August before the nominating conventions, a sign the Arizona senator could be drifting back to earth from what other opinion polls showed was a post-convention surge.

McCain's choice of Sarah Palin, an anti-abortion and pro-gun first-term governor from Alaska, as his No. 2 set off a political firestorm that helped stoke conservative enthusiasm for the Republican ticket. But Zogby said Palin also helped solidify Democratic support for Obama. "For the last few weeks it's been all about Palin and she has been a divisive force," he said. "She has shored up the base for both candidates."

Obama, who struggled to solidify Democrats in August when just 74 percent backed him, now has the support of 89 percent of Democrats. McCain's support among Republicans grew from 81 percent last month to 89 percent....

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-usa-poll-politics.html