WASHINGTON: With Wall Street in turmoil and the economy in a shambles, whichever presidential candidate convinces a swath of persuadable voters that he gets it — and can be trusted to lead the country back to fiscal stability — could well win the White House.
A recent AP-Yahoo! News poll found that 18 percent of likely voters are up for grabs — undecided or willing to change their minds — little more than five weeks before Americans choose between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
A large chunk of these voters say they are hurting on a personal level from the country’s economic woes, and, like everyone else, they say the economy is the top issue. Most haven’t decided who would best solve their problems as president; neither candidate has an advantage on handling the economy.
Simply put: Most are looking for a better life and a leader to help make it happen — and most haven’t found what they seek in Obama or McCain.
“There’s a person out there who could inspire change, mend the ways of the system and start fixing the economy, but I don’t think these two are up to the task,” said Rick Villiere, 39, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Historically, the ruling party loses the White House when the economy is bad, and it’s rare for voters to keep the same party in power for three straight terms. But the poll, conducted by Knowledge Networks, shows that Obama still hasn’t sealed the deal and McCain still has a shot after eight years of President Bush.
Meanwhile, a flurry of new polls in on Tuesday showed Obama getting a clear boost from the financial crisis as voters blame Republicans for the meltdown.
Fresh Quinnipiac University surveys in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin put Obama ahead and offered troubling warning signs for McCain.
Obama, seeking to seize the initiative, voiced sharp reservations about the government’s $700 billion bailout plan to help struggling financial institutions drawn up by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
“This plan cannot be a welfare program for Wall Street executives,” Obama told a press conference in Florida, setting out four demands including that a board be set up to oversee the economic rescue plan.
