MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

CBS/NYT poll gives Obama 14 points lead over McCain

The United States Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is entering the third and final presidential debate Wednesday with a wide lead over Republican rival John McCain, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll.

The Obama-Biden ticket now leads the McCain-Palin ticket 53% to 39% among likely voters, a 14-point margin. One week ago, prior to the Town Hall debate that uncommitted voters saw as a win for Obama, the margin was just three points. Among independents who are likely voters - a group that has swung back and forth between McCain and Obama over the course of the campaign - the Democratic ticket now leads by 18 points. McCain led among independents last week. McCain's campaign strategy may be hurting hurt him: 21% of voters say their opinion of the Republican has changed for the worse in the last few weeks. The top two reasons cited for the change of heart are McCain's attacks on Obama and his choice of Sarah Palin as running mate. Obama is widely seen as running the more positive campaign: 61% of those surveyed say McCain is spending more time attacking his opponent than explaining what he would do as president. Just 27% say the same of Obama. McCain's favourable rating has fallen four points from last week, to 36%, and is now lower than his 41% unfavourable rating. Obama, by contrast, is now viewed favourably by half of registered voters and unfavorably by just 32%. Obama holds a considerable edge over his rival on having the right "personality and temperament" to be president, with 69% saying Obama does and 53% saying McCain does. The Democratic nominee is also widely seen as more likely to make the right decision on the economy, far and away the top issue for voters, in a survey taken in the immediate aftermath of last week's historic Wall Street losses. Opinions of the candidates could still change, and potential trouble spots remain for Obama, among them the fact that small percentages of voters cite Obama's past associations with Bill Ayers (9%) and Reverend Jeremiah Wright (11%) as issues that bother them. But with more than four out of five of each candidate's supporters now saying their minds are made up, the poll suggests that McCain faces serious challenges as he looks to close the gap on his Democratic rival in the final three weeks of the campaign.