Bad economic news nets Obama 52 percent to 43 percent lead over McCain

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (KUNA) -- Nine days of seismic economic shocks have resulted in Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama gaining his first clear lead in his bid to defeat Republican John McCain and become the first African-American U.S. president, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Among likely voters, Obama leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent, the poll found. Just two weeks ago, following the Republican National Convention, the race was close to even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent, previous polls found.

Only 9 percent of those questioned in the latest poll said the U.S. economy was in "good or excellent" condition, marking the first time that number has been in single digits since shortly before the 1992 election, which Democrat Bill Clinton won by defeating incumbent Republican George H.W. Bush, father of the current president. Fourteen percent in the latest poll said the United States is moving in the right direction, matching the record low on that question dating back to 1973 polls.

Obama recorded a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, the new poll found, and as a result, his overall support was up.

Neither of the last two Democratic presidential nominees, Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, polled support above 50 percent in a pre-election poll by the Post and ABC News. Both Gore and Kerry lost very close elections to Republican George W. Bush, who leaves the White House in January.
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