October 21, 2008
Posted: 12:10 PM ET
From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
More than 6 in 10 voters say the economy is extremely important to their vote.
(CNN) — The nation's economic woes appear to be impacting the presidential race more than at any previous time this election cycle, according to a poll released Tuesday — a troubling sign for John McCain, who continues to receive low marks over the issue from a majority of voters. Potentially more damaging news for the Arizona senator's White House hopes: more than three-quarters of voters in a new survey from CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation say the United States is in a recession, and 40 percent say another depression is likely to hit the country within the next year. Watch: McCain says Obama has given 'wrong' answers on taxes and other issues According to the new poll, 61 percent of registered voters say the economy is extremely important to their vote, a jump of three points since June and more than 10 points higher the next most important issue on voters' minds, terrorism. The findings highlight an unfavorable political landscape for McCain, whose party has controlled the White House for the last eight years. Voters have also consistently ranked the Arizona senator lower than his Democratic rival on the question of which candidate is better-equipped to steer the country through the economic crisis. "Economic jitters are likely to benefit Barack Obama, because Obama has consistently outscored John McCain on economic issues," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Fifty-six percent say that Obama would do a better job than McCain on the economy, and 63 percent say he would do a better job than McCain on providing help to the middle class." A CNN/ORC poll released earlier Tuesday also showed two-thirds of voters said they're scared about the way things are going and three in four said the current conditions in the country are stressing them out. "If Americans are angry about the state of the country, they're probably more angry at the Republicans than the Democrats, since the GOP has controlled the White House for the past eight years," Holland said.
The latest poll numbers make clear just how different the 2008 political climate is than it was four years ago, during President Bush’s successful re-election bid. In a late October poll that year, fewer than 4 in 10 voters said the economy was an extremely important concern, while nearly 50 percent identified terrorism as the most salient issue facing the nation. That playing field would certainly would have been friendlier to McCain, who has long received high marks from voters on issues of national security. "Since McCain is still seen as the best candidate to handle terrorism and Iraq, he might be doing much better in the polls today if the economy hadn't muscled national security issues out of the top spot," Holland said. If 2008 resembles any recent political year it's 1992, when roughly the same number of Americans thought the country was headed in the wrong direction largely because of the economic recession that year. It was that issue that is largely credited with helping then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's defeat of President George Bush Sr. "In 1992 it was the economy stupid that got Bill Clinton elected. When Americans are in a bad mood it does have political consequences," CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider said. "The angrier you feel the more likely you are to vote for Obama." Filed under: Barack Obama John McCain
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