McCain forces have portrayed Obama as a naive celebrity who is unprepared to be president in dangerous times. A Navy aviator who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, McCain has also suggested that Obama would put personal ambition ahead of America's interests.
With that backdrop, the poll found that 35% of voters have questions about how patriotic Obama is. Just 9% wonder how patriotic McCain is.
"All the negative attacks from the McCain campaign seem to have been paying off," said Times Poll Director Susan Pinkus, who oversaw the survey.
As Obama's public image has eroded, McCain's ratings have remained steady: 46% of voters have a positive feeling about him; 38% give him negative ratings.
Long unpopular with conservatives, McCain has had more success than Obama in uniting his party's base. Nine out of 10 Republicans now plan to vote for McCain, while roughly 8 in 10 Democrats support Obama.
The survey found a slight shift of Democrats from Obama toward McCain or the undecided column since June. Among Democrats, 11% are undecided, while just 3% of Republicans are.
McCain has also improved his standing among white evangelicals, a major GOP constituency: 69% prefer him over Obama, still well shy of the 78% that Bush won in 2004.
Still, even with the rise in enthusiasm among McCain's supporters, it was not enough to match the excitement of those who side with Obama. The poll found 78% of Obama's supporters are enthusiastic about his candidacy, while 61% of McCain's felt that way. Nearly a third of Republicans remain unenthusiastic about McCain.
"In every election, it's kind of like the worse of two," said McCain supporter Denise Gionet Gonzales, 44, a Republican from Lake Forest in Orange County. "Neither candidate gets me excited."
In a worrisome sign for McCain, 61% of the independents who support him say they are unenthusiastic about him. Independents, who could wind up deciding the election, favor Obama, 47% to 36%.
The poll of 1,375 adults, including 1,248 registered voters, was conducted by telephone Friday through Monday.
Dominating the news during that period -- aside from the Olympics -- was the Russian invasion of Georgia. McCain has used the crisis to try to strengthen his hand on foreign affairs, calling for tough steps against Russia to protect U.S. interests in the region.
The survey found that 77% of voters have confidence in McCain's ability to deal wisely with an international crisis, while 63% feel that way about Obama.
