National Poll Released by Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll: Barack Obama 47%, John McCain 39%, Bob Barr 1%

Here are the latest results from the Los Angeles Times National Polls poll by Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll published on USAElectionPolls.com:

There were 1446 voters polled on 10/10-13.

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Quote:

"He's got more in mind of what the country needs right now, and I just think he would be a better leader than McCain," said Betty May, a resident of Ironton, Ohio. May, a Democrat, spoke in a follow-up interview after being polled.

For McCain, there were slight gains over the last month among older voters and white working-class voters, and he has maintained an edge over Obama when it comes to perceptions of how the candidates would deal with Iraq and foreign affairs.

But the Arizona senator's overall level of support declined, in part because his dramatic decision to vault the little-known governor of Alaska onto the ticket appears to have backfired.

More than one-quarter of voters said they were less likely to vote for McCain because Sarah Palin was his running mate, more than the 22% who said she made them more likely to vote for him. In September, Palin drew in more voters than she put off.

Forty-three percent of voters felt she was qualified to be president, a far lower percentage than the 76% who judged Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden as qualified. Palin was the least popular of the four principal candidates.

But she has accomplished one of the ticket's goals: engaging a Republican base that is decidedly less enthusiastic than the Democratic one. One-third of conservatives, and nearly half of Republicans, said they were more likely to vote for McCain with Palin as his running mate.

Even though the election has been remarkably volatile -- and polls are not predictions -- the survey underscored the predicament in which McCain finds himself as election day nears: Much of his recent effort has been aimed at shifting focus from the economy to questions he has raised about Obama's character. But the nation's financial difficulties are swamping all other issues. And tactics that McCain employed to fuel Republican enthusiasm, such as the Palin selection, have served to alienate other key groups.

McCain also remains tethered to an unpopular president. Obama has repeatedly pressed the argument that the Republican's first term would be akin to George W. Bush's third. Americans generally agreed: 52% said McCain would continue Bush's policies, compared with 42% who said he would not.

Source: Latest Polls, Electoral College Results