As the Democratic nomination contest comes to an end, Barack Obama faces a real race, but John McCain faces immediate challenges — faltering popularity, an extremely damaged Republican brand, an imperiled economy, and an evermore unpopular war in Iraq. Still, while Obama is seen as honest and more likely than McCain to break the gridlock in Washington and bring change, he still faces a lot of skepticism on the change he offers.
Democracy Corps completed a national survey of 1,014 likely voters that shows both Obama and Clinton emerging ahead of McCain in a close race for the White House. The survey, conducted May 13-15, shows that this is a very close race, but Obama’s work is made easier by the emerging partisan trends, issues, desire for leadership and choice before voters.
In their comprehensive analysis of the survey, Stan Greenberg and Ana Iparraguirre highlight the developments that are giving this race definition at this pivotal point. The Republican Party’s faltering popularity, an electorate focused on change and Democrats’ advantage on the economy, Iraq and government reform are framing the choice in 2008.
