WASHINGTON -- The crisis in the financial markets and increasing anxiety about the economy is playing to Sen. Barack Obama's political strengths, but it has not given him a substantial lead in the presidential contest, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows.
Amid turmoil in the nation's financial sector that threatens to harm the broader economy, more voters say they believe Obama is best equipped to handle domestic issues, such as the economy and healthcare, than his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain.
Nonetheless, the contest remains close: In a head-to-head choice, Obama is supported by 49% of likely voters and McCain by 45%.
Obama's lead shrinks to 46% to 44% if all registered voters are counted -- not very different than the result of a Times/Bloomberg poll in August, which also showed Obama holding a 2-point margin. The earlier poll was taken before the two widely viewed political conventions and the latest turmoil on Wall Street.
McCain has kept the race close by making gains among independent voters and by generating GOP enthusiasm with the choice of conservative Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. But the terrain is shifting in Obama's favor.
Most poll respondents said domestic issues were more important than foreign policy in deciding on a candidate. And more believed that Obama had better ideas about what to do on that front.
Only about 10% of registered voters in the poll were undecided or wavering. An additional 15% said they might change their minds. Many were looking to upcoming debates as an opportunity for the candidates to sway them.
"I need more input on how they want to guide us," said Ronald Cheatham, a former truck driver in Los Angeles, in an interview after participating in the survey. "I don't need a third Bush term, and I don't want a guy that has no experience."
The poll, supervised by Times poll director Susan Pinkus, was conducted Sept. 19-22 based on telephone interviews with 1,428 adults, including 1,287 registered voters and 838 who were likely to go to the polls. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The interviews were conducted at a particularly tumultuous time for the economy and politics. In the last month, voters in large numbers have watched both parties' political conventions. Palin, until recently a little-known governor, has become an overnight celebrity. The stock market has dived, risen and fallen again, as Congress and the Bush administration try to agree on a plan to prevent the financial crisis among Wall Street financial institutions from spreading.
