Obama, McCain Seen As Better Prospects than Kerry and Bush

rasmussenreports.comTue Sep 2, 8:30 AM ET

Voters, by a 56% to 26% margin, say Barack Obama is a better potential president than the Democratic Party's 2004 nominee, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey also found that, by a 48% to 28% margin, voters say John McCain is a better potential president than the Republican who has held the job for eight years, George W. Bush.

Among unaffiliated voters, those not aligned with either the Democratic or the Republican Party, the numbers are virtually identical. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of unaffiliated voters say Obama is better than Kerry while 26% disagree. Fifty-six percent (56%) of unaffiliateds say McCain is better than Bush, while 23% disagree.

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The Obama campaign has been promoting the notion that electing McCain would be the same as a third term for President Bush, but even Democrats are divided as to whether they're the same. Thirty-eight percent (38%) say McCain is better than Bush, 37% say he is not, and 25% are not sure. But, by an overwhelming 77% to 9% margin, Democrats say Obama is better than Kerry.

Among Republicans, 54% believe McCain is better than Bush while 22% disagree. Despite Bush's low job approval ratings overall, 70% of Republicans continue to approve of his performance.

Just 30% of Republicans see Obama as a better prospect than Kerry. Forty-six percent (46%) disagree, and 24% are not sure.

Older Americans are more likely to see McCain as better than Bush. Younger voters are more likely to see Obama as better than Kerry.

Other polling released today showed that the number of Republicans in the country increased slightly during August while the number of Democrats remained unchanged.

This national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on August 31, 2008. The margin of sampling error for each survey is 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.


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