Obama, McCain deadlocked as conventions set to begin: poll

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Aug 21: Barack Obama and John McCain are locked in a tight battle for president, with the Democrat capitalizing on voter concern over the economy and energy and the Republican benefiting from his experience and success in neutralizing the issue of the unpopular Iraq war. The latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll shows that Obama, the first black major-party nominee, may have defused the issue of race, particularly among independents who will form a crucial voting bloc in the November election.

With the nominating conventions set to begin next week, Illinois Senator Obama edges McCain 42% to 41% among registered voters; minor-party candidates garner 5%. In a head-to-head matchup excluding third-party candidates, Obama has a 2-point advantage over Arizona Senator McCain. The results are within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3 %age points.

The deteriorating economy and rising energy costs have been major issues for so long and voters blame the Republicans and George Bush for the problems,'' says Susan Pinkus, the Los Angeles Times polling director. Still, Pinkus says, McCain has benefited from voters' concerns about Obama's experience and ability to handle an international crisis."With the economy doing so poorly and the unpopularity of the war in Iraq, Obama should be further ahead,'' she says.

A bright spot for Obama is that many more Democrats say t4hey are enthusiastic about their candidate than Republicans. As in previous surveys in this election cycle, the economy and Iraq remain the dominant issues. Four out of 10 voters choose the economy as the top priority for the candidates, with 45% saying Obama has better ideas for bolstering it, compared with 28% who pick McCain.

About a third choose the war as the most important issue. Fuel prices and health care lag behind, according to the survey of 1,248 registered voters conducted Aug. 15-18. Obama, 47, is also favored by a margin of 39% to 32% over McCain, 71, as the candidate best able to deal with rising gas and oil prices.

Obama's proposals to invest in alternative energy, give $1,000 energy rebates to working families and his opposition to offshore drilling are favored by 44 % of voters.