WASHINGTON — The crisis in the financial markets and increasing anxiety about the economy are playing to Barack Obama's political strengths, but they have 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 said they believed Obama was better equipped to handle domestic issues, such as the economy and healthcare, than his Republican rival, John McCain.
Nonetheless, the contest remains close: In a head-to-head choice, Obama was 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 much different than the result of a Times/Bloomberg poll in August, which also showed Obama holding a 2-percentage-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 the upcoming presidential debates as an opportunity for the candidates to sway them.
"I need more input on how they want to guide us," Ronald Cheatham, a former truck driver in Los Angeles, said in an interview after participating in the survey.
The poll, supervised by Times Poll Director Susan Pinkus and conducted Sept. 19 to 22, was based on telephone interviews with 1,428 adults -- including 1,287 registered voters, 838 of whom were likely to cast ballots.
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.
