CNN Poll: McCain Dead-Even With Obama

It’s neck and neck for Barack Obama and John McCain as the bid for the White House heats up, according to the latest from CNN/Opinion Research Corp.

The poll, released after Obama’s vice president announcement, showed that 47 percent of those interviewed favored Obama, with 47 percent favoring McCain.

The latest figures represent a backslide for the presumptive Democratic nominee, as recent polls have had him pegged at least 5 points ahead. A June 4, 2008 CBS poll had Obama leading McCain by 6 points.

The difference between the polls might represent Hillary Clinton backers who are fleeing to John McCain. Now that Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate, Clinton supporters find themselves scrambling for a candidate that best supports their positions. In some cases, that candidate is John McCain.

The poll revealed that 66 percent of Clinton backers are throwing their support behind Obama, but that’s down from 75 percent from previous polling data. A full 27 percent of them are now supporting McCain — up from 16 percent in June, according to the poll.

McCain has been steadily eating away at Obama’s lead — as recent as Aug. 20, 2008, a Times/Bloomberg poll had the two in a statistical tie. Obama edged out McCain 45 percent to 43 percent. The poll blamed the McCain catch-up on an eroded public image of Obama, and it revealed perhaps the most damning Obama statistic — his favorable rating nosedived from 59 percent to 48 percent.

The CNN poll was conducted on Saturday and Sunday with 1,023 telephone interviewees. The CBS poll was conducted from May 30-June 3, 2008, with 1,038 telephone interviewees. The Times/Bloomberg poll was conducted Aug. 15-18, 2008, with 1,375 telephone interviewees.