A new poll out Wednesday suggests McCain will be difficult to beat in November. (Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (CNN) - A new poll out Wednesday suggests Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will be a difficult candidate for the eventual Democratic nominee to beat in a general election match up this fall.
According to a just released Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll, McCain would be in tight races with either of the remaining Democratic presidential candidates.
McCain is statistically tied with Sen. Barack Obama, 44 percent to 42 percent, and ahead of Sen. Hillary Clinton by 6 points, 46 percent to 40 percent. The poll's margin of error was plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.
The poll also showed McCain with a 61 percent approval rating, a number higher than both Clinton's and Obama's in past polls. (A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll earlier this month measured Clinton's approval rating at 52 percent and Obama's at 58 percent.)
The Arizona senator holds a clear advantage on dealing with the war in Iraq, according to the poll, and holds a 9 point advantage on economic issues over Obama, despite having acknowledged that area is not his expertise. Though the poll finds voters favor Clinton by 10 points over McCain to handle the economy.
The same poll also showed Obama with a 6 point edge over Clinton nationally - a finding that's consistent with several other polls out earlier this week that indicate that the senator from Illinois is the frontrunner in the Democratic race.
– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
From CNN Politics
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It's the economy STUPID!! That's why it's important to vote for Clinton if the democrats want to win in November. She leads McCain by 10 points when it comes to the economy. People will be voting based on their finance situation. Wake up America! Vote Clinton.
if americans permit mccain to become effectively a third term for bush, then this country will get exactly what it deserves.
I worry where the older Democratic voters will go after Hillary. We are a house divided, with my 78-year old mom supporting Hillary and me at 52 years old supporting Barack. I respect her choice which is grounded in the experience she perceives in Hillary. My vote is based on vision and the need to alter the direction of this country dramatically. My mom did like McCain some years ago even though we are Democrats. I wonder now with these findings if she will cross over for McCain because she thinks our country must get back on track. I think that our family's experience may be somewhere in this poll: changing direction versus getting back on track.
All the various polls indicate the same. Only Barak will be able to beat McCain. This should encourage the voters in Ohio and Texas to vote for Barak, as with Clinton they risk losing the election in November and that would mean another X-years of Rebuplican rule.
You really can not go by these polls right now. After the Democratic and the Republican nominees are selected, the two final candidates(in the General Election) will end up receiving new votes from those that currently support another candidate. I believe there will be a lot of cross over votes that are not being taken into account.
This is nonsense, every poll that comes out says that Obama doesn't have a chance...then people start voting and prove these polls wrong.
I hate that these polls are given so much credit when they seem to be wrong so much.
The country is not voting Republican this next round, we all have had enough of these last 8 years and this horrible economy, war, and the disaster that is the Bush administration.
The people will prove the polls wrong in November, and MCAIN will not be president, Senator Barack Obama will.
While McCain might be ahead now, his numbers will fall fast once the democractic party has their man or woman chosen and everyone is able to come together and fight for our candidate. We have waited for eight years to right the wrongs of 2000 when we were robbed of our President – Al Gore. We will come together and fight for our candidate. We have to for the sake of our future and our children!
Of course, McCain appeals to alot of Democrats and Indepedents. This fall is going to be close.....no questioning that.
only made worse due to nader.
Every primary state, he's gotten anywhere from half to a fifth of the votes of either Obama or Clinton.
This poll is meaningless. The general election is nine months away. Don't worry, he'll be beaten. Handily.
Why not do poll here in CNN? So we can see the number more clear.
How can a man that supports the war and wants it to go on for 100 more years win???? Where is the money coming from the sky? No wonder why this country is in such decrepit condition. I think a majority of this country needs to wake up out of the trance they are in.
There are many people from both sides of the Hillary & Barack cults who need to take a step back from their all-or-nothing stance that makes them say they will abstain or vote McCain in November if thier deity doesn't receive the nomination.
If they haven't been listening to McCain's latest positions then maybe they should keep an ear out. He is basically adopting the failed Bush policies that have created this urgency that many of you posses and that drives you to back your respective candidates in the first place. If this bickering doesn't end soon then we can look forward to another 4 to 8 years of the DeEvolution of American standards in all facets of our every day lives.
YES!!!! Excellent! GO MCCAIN! The other two options just aren't gonna cut it. One is a windbag, the other too liberal.
Senator McCain has the ability to bring together democrats, republican, independents, liberals, conservaties, etc., to move this country in the right direction.
How unfortunate that those very groups will try to destroy him before election day so that they can "bring in one of their own".
McCain is the only one with near the qualifications to be President. The other two shouldn't even have made it this far.
I don't understand the headline. The poll shows Obama beating McCain, even if it is within the margin of error. How is this spun in McCain's favor?
The real story here is that no one has reached 50% of the vote.
This is great, another 4 or 8 years of an "older" Bush. I don't know what is wrong with the American people. Guess we are just gluttons for punishment. I will cast my vote for Obama and if McCain wins, I can at least not have to blame myself for our country going under. It's called "peace of mind". Americans better wake up, and fast.
Time for a Third Party candidate so we can become a true democracy, not some kind of corporate zombi nation like we are becoming!!
Ah yes – Obama leads McCain in multiple national polls by an average of 7 percentage points – but McCain will be tough to beat?
I'd laugh if the story weren;t so preposterous.
I'll take McCain or Obama over Hillary, and so it sounds like my preference will come true.
My only issue with McCain is that he's 72. If you're voting for McCain for president, you're really voting for whoever his Vice-Presidential candidate will be, because the odds are good ol' John won't be around in 8 years.
I'd rather vote for the candidate I know can withstand the physical rigors of having the hardest job in America.
The main issue in this election is the economy.
...the poll finds voters favor Clinton by 10 points over McCain to handle the economy.
McCain has a 9 point advantage on economic issues over Obama.
Reality Bites!
Anonymous is a republican.
I have been telling people for awhile now that McCain is going to be very hard to topple; especially when Obama has no international relations experience or Hillary's polarizing opinions...McCain, the maverick senator from Arizona may or may not have a tough race due to his overall party image, but he is clealy a popular figure in American politics.