Ipsos poll: Mccain gains 4 points and closes the gap

McCain cuts into Obama's edge on jobs, economy, poll finds
McClatchy Newspapers

"Joe the Plumber" may be paying off for Sen. John McCain.

The Arizona senator scored sharp gains on the pivotal issue of jobs and the economy in the past week, helping him gain a bit on front-runner Sen. Barack Obama and narrow the presidential race as it heads into the final week, according to an Ipsos-McClatchy Poll released Tuesday.

The poll found Obama's margin over McCain on who's stronger on jobs and the economy - by far the top issue in the country - down from 16 points to 7 points in one week.

The Illinois senator's loss of ground on that benchmark question came as McCain hammered him repeatedly as someone who would give taxpayers' money to the poor and pay for it by raising taxes on small businesses, much like the plumbing business in Ohio that "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher said he wanted to buy someday.

Overall, the poll found:

-Obama, the Democrat, supported by 48 percent of likely voters.

-McCain, the Republican, supported by 42 percent.

Obama's 6-point lead in the Ipsos-McClatchy Poll is down from 8 points the week before. The survey of 831 likely voters, taken Thursday through Monday, has an error margin of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

When matched head to head without other candidates, Obama leads McCain by 5 points, down from 9 the week before.

Obama still leads in the Ipsos-McClatchy Poll among most demographic groups and on most issues. But he has lost ground on several:

-On jobs and the economy, voters prefer Obama by 50-43 percent. The week before, they preferred him by 54-38.

-On taxes, they prefer Obama by 48-43 percent, a drop of 3 points in a week.

-On health care, likely voters trust Obama over McCain by 53-37 percent. That 16-point advantage was down from 24 points the week before.

-Obama also lost a little standing on family values, the traditionally Republican issue where he has the edge, 47-42 percent. The week before, he led on family values by 48-40 percent.