Economic Fears Double

Amid the dozens of new polls every week, it's hard to keep track of the details. I just looked through the results of Pew's new survey, and this finding jumped out. Pew asked voters to rate the most important national problem. For most of the year, the economy has been the leading issue, but have a look at how dramatically it's grown.

Voters citing "economy" as most important issue

34%: January
61%: July
75%: October

This is really astounding movement on a single issue. Iraq, by comparison, has slid from the main worry of 27% of respondents to just 11%. Obama is favored by 14 points over McCain in the ability to handle (47%-33%) the current financial crisis.

If these numbers stay the same (and based on the news, they will), it seems inconceivable that McCain could win.

Oh, and one other finding. In June they asked voters if the candidates were too critical of each other. They thought neither candidate was being too critical (19% for Obama, 26% for McCain). But in this survey, that's changed radically. Only 22% think Obama's too critical of McCain now, but 48% think McCain's too critical. Voters are also 2% worried about McCain's "character, age, and judgment" than Obama's.