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Obama leads on compassion, McCain on experience

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor October 7, 2008 04:36 PM

Barack Obama gets far higher marks from voters on compassion and policies, but John McCain is still ahead on experience and leadership, according to a new poll out this afternoon.

Asked which characteristic applies more to a candidate, 55 percent of registered voters said Obama "cares about people" like them, compared to 35 percent who picked McCain -- a gap that is double what it was a month ago, the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found.

The poll found that 48 percent said Obama has a "clear plan for solving the country's problems," as opposed to 33 percent for McCain. The two were basically tied on this measure a month ago.

McCain continues to lead Obama on being a "strong and decisive leader" 50 percent to 45 percent among registered voters. He also still leads on having the "right experience" to be president.

Obama also leads by a wide margin on displaying good judgment in an economic crisis, and has closed the gap into a virtual tie on displaying good judgment in an international crisis.

The survey was done Friday through Sunday and for these findings has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

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We need to elect someone that has proven character and judgement. Obama is a great orator and speech giver. What I don't see in Obama is significant positive accomplishments that prove to me that he wil accomplish positive things.
His associations with a terrorist, a convicted Chicago wheeler and dealer, a preacher who preaches hate and others at the least raise questions about his judgement and character. Everyone should think hard about who Obama really is and what is his intentions are once he is President. Based on the people who helped him get where he is, he is the most scarry candidate every to run for President.
He is the #1 liberal. You don't become the #1 liberal without voting for bigger government and higher taxes. These are the things that kill jobs and make the US less compeitive in the global economy. Please vote for Obama if you want to deal with Federal regulations in getting health care that will be written by the same bureaucrats that wrote the tax code. It is easy to make good sounding empty promises when you do not provide the specifics and details.

Posted by hardworking October 7, 08 04:59 PM
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Barney Frank's and Chris Dodd's and Barack Obama's compassion for everyone to own a home regardless of their ability to afford one LED this country into a financial quaqmire. I'm all for compassion but not at the expense of my children's future because some pie-in-the-sky politician neglected their responsibility to PROTECT our economy.

They are criminals for fighting reform efforts to put the clamps on high-risk mortgages.

Posted by Barney Fife October 7, 08 05:09 PM
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Marx had compassion

Posted by Mike October 7, 08 05:17 PM
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Most of us would take experience and leadership over insincere compassion and spendthrift programs any day.......

Posted by Watchdogg October 7, 08 05:17 PM
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One would hope that a man of 72 would have more life experience than a man of 47. But these last several days, all of John McCain's life experience has resulted in his acting no differently from an ignorant cornered animal. I am shocked at how bitter John McCain has really turned out to be. He is striking out at Obama with personal attacks, even has his running mate accusing Obama of treason, for no better reason than the old man has run out of anything to offer the American people. But McCain still isn't selling anything the voters want to buy. What a tragedy. For so many years McCain persuaded people into thinking that he could be a giant of history. And now he has proven to be just a loud hiccup.

Posted by Jerry in LA October 7, 08 05:18 PM
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With Senator Obama's nonexistent record of experience on virtually anything (143 days in the US Senate and mostly "Present" votes (139) in the state senate) his higher marks could only be for "believing" he'd offer more in terms of compassion and policies.

While I am eager to support a black person for president in my lifetime, a vote for Senator Obama, at this point in his career, could not be for any serious measure of qualification or experience; but, ONLY because he is black. And, that's simply not Right!

Posted by Ken Redman October 7, 08 05:28 PM
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The like of the idea of the president being compassionate and having the ability to relate to people. John McCain is a self described maverick and gambler- he like to roll the dice. He has said he make decisions quickly and has come to regret some of his decisions, however, he lives with the consequences of those decisions. That is good for McCain, however, making decisions that affects millions of people demands thinking before forcing millions to live with the consequences.

Posted by Pam October 7, 08 06:06 PM
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Ken Redman: Those 139 "present" votes account for a fraction of the 4000 votes he casted in the state senate. You've been misinformed.
Hardworking: You're simply repeating McCain and Palin rhetoric and talking points. Do some research and think for yourself. What kind of metric is there to become "the No. 1 Liberal?" That statement is meaningless. You complain how there's no details available. Obama's plan can be found on his website, and it is much more lucid and detailed than McCain's. You question Obama's judgement of people? How about McCain's involvement in the S&L scandal, or infidelity to his first wife , or Palin's marriage to a former anti-American Alaskan separatist?

Posted by You guys are nuts. October 7, 08 06:56 PM
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you can hire experience, and you can buy knowledge, but sound judgment, and solid ideas guided by a moral compass pointed north to the interests of the American people you cannot replace.

Posted by andyt October 8, 08 12:41 PM
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