Republican John McCain tried to bolster his economic credentials as a new poll showed he had erased Barack Obama’s 10-point advantage in a head-to-head presidential matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates.In a further boost to McCain, many supporters of Obama and rival Hillary Rodham Clinton are so strongly divided that they say they would rather vote for him if their candidate does not get the Democratic nomination, according to the Associated Press-Ipsos poll released on Thursday.Between the two Democrats, the poll numbers were unchanged from February, with Obama at 46 per cent and Clinton at 43 per cent. However, the intense and extended Democratic primary race has turned off some Democrats. About a quarter of Obama supporters say they will vote for McCain if Clinton is the Democratic nominee. About a third of Clinton supporters say they would vote for McCain if it is Obama.Obama holds a lead in the race for delegates, and Clinton is hoping to revive her campaign with a win in the last major primary on April 22 in Pennsylvania, though it is doubtful she will catch up. Neither candidate will be able to clinch the 2,025 delegates needed to win the nomination without the approval of superdelegates, elected officials and party insiders who also vote at the party’s August convention.McCain is benefiting from a bounce in the polls since he essentially clinched the Republican nomination a month ago. The former Vietnam prisoner of war has slowly moved up in matchups with each of the Democratic candidates, particularly Obama.An AP-Ipsos poll taken in late February had Obama leading McCain 51-41 per cent. The current survey, conducted April 7-9, had them at 45 per cent each.Clinton led McCain, 48-43 percent, in February. The latest survey showed the New York senator with 48 per cent support to McCain’s 45 per cent. Factoring in the poll’s margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, Clinton and McCain are statistically tied.Against McCain, Obama lost ground among women—from 57 per cent in February to 47 per cent in April. He also lost nine points or more among voters under 35, high-income households, whites, Catholics, independents, Southerners, people living in the Northeast and those with a high school education or less.Meanwhile, McCain was campaigning in New York. The Republican nominee-in-waiting sought on Thursday to fend off criticism that he has been indifferent to the US housing crisis and the weak economy by outlining a plan to help homeowners who cannot pay their mortgages. The veteran senator said he would help 200,000 to 400,000 homeowners trade burdensome mortgages for manageable loans in a speech in Brooklyn. Aides said the plan could cost from $3 billion to $10 billion.
