Obama lead drops to 5 points

Democrat Barack Obama's lead over Republican rival John McCain has dropped to five points, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released yesterday.

Mr Obama leads Mr McCain by 49 per cent to 44 per cent among likely US voters in the daily tracking poll, which has a margin of error of 2.9 points. Mr Obama's lead has dropped over the last three days after hitting a high of 12 points on Thursday.

"Things are trending back for McCain. His numbers are rising and Obama's are dropping on a daily basis. There seems to be a direct correlation between this and McCain talking about the economy," pollster John Zogby said.

Mr Obama, 47, took the lead in most national polls in recent weeks as the financial crisis and plunging stock market seized centre stage ahead of the November 4 election.

Mr McCain, 72, appeared slow to respond to Mr Obama's financial message but in recent days has ramped up the economic themes of his own campaign. On Saturday the Arizona Republican warned voters of the dangers of what he termed a Democratic takeover in both the White House and Congress.

Mr Obama has countered by seeking to link Mr McCain's proposals to the policies of outgoing Republican President George W. Bush, who fares very poorly in public approval surveys.

Mr Obama's lead among voters making less than $35,000 per year remains substantial at a little over 70 per cent. But Mr McCain, who had previously scored well only with the highest income brackets, now holds slight leads among voters in all income groups starting at $35,000 and above.

"You've got to think that it is tax-and-spend that concerns them. Is McCain starting to connect with the middle class?" Mr Zogby said.

Mr Obama still had solid, if slightly diminished, leads among two important groups which could play pivotal roles in the November 4 election.