Obama leads by 10 points over his Republican rival McCain

Washington, Oct 13 (UNI) With just over three weeks to go for polls, Democratic Party presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama has established a lead of ten points over his Republican rival, Senator John McCain, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. .

The two nominees appear to be on opposite trajectories, with Sen Obama gaining momentum and Sen McCain stalled or losing ground on a range of issues and personal traits.

According to the poll, Obama is leading by 53 per cent over McCain's 43 per cent among the likely voters, and for the first time in the general election campaign, voters gave the democrat a clear edge on tax policy and providing a strong leadership.

McCain has made little headway in his attempts to convince voters that Obama is too 'risky' or too 'liberal'. But, recent strategic shifts may have hurt the Republican nominee, who now has higher negative ratings than his rival and is seen as mostly attacking his opponent rather than addressing the issues that voters care about, says the poll.

It says even McCain's supporters were now less enthusiastic about his candidacy, returning to levels not seen before the Republican National Convention.

The poll was conducted after last Tuesday night's debate, which did not sway the voters opinions much and still the impressions of Obama are up, and views of McCain have slipped.

With the final debate set for Wednesday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N Y , McCain faces a narrowing window in which to reverse course.

The poll says McCain's path to victory seems steeper as the percentage of ''movable'' voters continues to shrink. Thirteen per cent of all voters are now either undecided or may change their mind before the election day, the poll stated.

Adding to McCain's burden, as the standard-bearer for the party in power, is an unprecedented grim view of the country overall as ninety per cent of Americans now see the country heading in the wrong direction, the worst rating in polls dating to 1973.

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