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McCain gains ground on Democratic hopefuls: poll

Republican Senator John McCain tried to bolster his economic credentials as a new poll showed he had erased Senator Barack Obama’s 10-point advantage in a head-to-head presidential matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates.

In a further boost to McCain, many supporters of Obama and rival Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton are so strongly divided that they say they would rather vote for him if their candidate does not get the Democratic nomination, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released on Thursday showed.

The Republican nominee-in-waiting sought on Thursday to fend off criticism that he has been indifferent to the US housing crisis and the weak economy by outlining a plan to help homeowners who cannot pay their mortgages.

The veteran senator said he would help 200,000 to 400,000 homeowners trade burdensome mortgages for manageable loans in a speech in New York City’s Brooklyn borough. Aides said the plan could cost from US$3 billion to US$10 billion.

Between the two Democrats, the poll numbers were unchanged from February, with Obama at 46 percent and Clinton at 43 percent.

However, the intense and extended Democratic primary race has turned off some Democrats. About a quarter of Obama supporters say they will vote for McCain if Clinton is the Democratic nominee.

About a third of Clinton supporters say they would vote for McCain if it is Obama.

Obama holds a lead in the race for delegates and Clinton is hoping to revive her campaign with a win in the last major primary on April 22 in Pennsylvania, though it is doubtful she will catch up. Neither candidate will be able to clinch the 2,025 delegates needed to win the nomination without the approval of superdelegates, elected officials and party insiders who also vote at the party’s August convention.

McCain is benefiting from a bounce in the polls since he essentially clinched the Republican nomination a month ago.

The former Vietnam prisoner of war has moved up in matchups with each of the Democratic candidates.

An AP-Ipsos poll taken in late February had Obama leading McCain 51 percent to 41 percent. The survey conducted April 7 to April 9, had them at 45 percent each.

Clinton led McCain, 48 percent to 43 percent, in February. The latest survey showed the New York senator with 48 percent support to McCain’s 45 percent.
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