Barack Obama once again won tonight’s debate, and undecided voters are prepared to move toward his candidacy, according to Democracy Corps research conducted around tonight’s second presidential debate. Unlike the first debate, when Democracy Corps research showed half the voters remaining undecided and the two candidates splitting the other half, the vote following the second debate showed a decisive shift toward Senator Obama. This debate was a clear victory for Obama who made major gains not just in the vote but also on personal favorability and key attributes like ‘has what it takes to be President,’ which ultimately drove undecided voters into his column.
|
Also of interest:
Obama’s personal favorability rose significantly from 54 to 80 percent after the debate. While McCain’s personal favorability saw a slight 8-point uptick after the debate (from 48 percent to 56 percent), this was marginal compared to Obama’s gains...It's still a pretty tiny sample, though, so we'll have to wait and see if it translates to a broader trend.
Obama’s greatest achievement during tonight’s debate was to reassure voters that he has the stature to be President of the United States. While initially a majority of voters questioned whether Obama has what it takes to be president, by the conclusion of the debate less than a third maintained these doubts. At the end, Obama closed the gap with John McCain on key leadership attributes, and voters were more likely to trust him to make the right decisions for the country.
