Despite an intense effort to distance himself from the way his party has done business in Washington, Senator John McCain is seen by voters as far less likely to bring change to Washington than Senator Barack Obama. He is widely viewed as a “typical Republican” who would continue or expand President Bush’s policies, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.Although McCain clearly enjoyed a surge post-election, the Palin effect "...was, at least so far, a limited burst of interest. " In fact, "...there was no evidence of significantly increased support for him among women in general."
Seventy-five per cent of those polled, "...felt Mr. McCain had picked Ms. Palin more to help him win the election than because he thought that she was well qualified to be president; More than 6 in 10 said they would be concerned if Mr. McCain could not finish his term and Ms. Palin had to take over. In contrast, two-thirds of voters surveyed said Mr. Biden would be qualified to take over for Mr. Obama, a figure that cut across party lines."
The contest appeared to be roughly where it was before the two conventions and before the vice-presidential selections: Mr. Obama had the support of 48 percent of registered voters, compared with 43 percent for Mr. McCain, a difference within the poll’s margin of sampling error, and statistically unchanged from the tally in the last New York Times/CBS News poll, in mid-August.
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When asked who they thought would win in November, 45 percent said Mr. Obama and 38 percent said Mr. McCain.
