Obama Holds 3 Point Lead

By: Pamela Mortimer

The U.S. presidential race between Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain is too close to call according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll published on Tuesday. Obama holds a slim 3 point lead over McCain, their stats coming in at 48 percent to 45 percent respectively. Four percent are undecided. The national poll has a margin of 2.8 percentage points, which at this point, seems more critical than usual.

The results of the poll are representative of the public’s opinions to date. The survey was taken from Saturday through Monday, after the vice presidential debates between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Sarah Palin. The polls will continue on a daily basis until the November 4th election.

As of right now, the poll shows Obama taking the lead among independents and women – two of the factions that are typically considered as vital swing votes. Obama tops the women’s choices at 51%; 49% of the independents are on the Illinois Senator’s bandwagon.

"Obama is leading among the key target groups, but this race is nowhere close to over," pollster John Zogby said. "The deal is far from closed."

Illinois Senator Obama, 47, holds 90% of the black vote and also leads among yuong voters, self-described moderates, Hispanics, and people who earn under $50,000 a year.

Arizona Senator McCain, 72, is the leader with whites, men, Catholics, older voters, and people who earn over $100,000 a year.

Both Obama and McCain have secured the support of their own parties, averaging 90% of the vote.

A campaign designed to ramp up voter registration has been paying off for the Obama camp, topping McCain’s efforts by 63% to 47% over the last six months.

As the campaign continues, the mudslinging is increasing in its fervor. This is not sitting well with voters. The poll shows that the tactics used by both parties have sullied the voters’ opinions. The survey showed that voters were critical of both sides of the campaign, reporting just over a 50% rate for each candidate. McCain received a favorable vote of 57%, while Obama received a favorable vote of 55%.

The poll also showed that Libertarian Bob Barr and Independent Ralph Nader are responsible for 1% of the votes recorded.