Poll puts Obama back in the lead after race speech

UNITED STATES: SENATOR BARACK Obama gained a boost yesterday when the first poll taken since his make-or-break speech last week on race put him back ahead of Hillary Clinton.

A nationwide Gallup poll put Mr Obama on 48 per cent to Mrs Clinton's 45 per cent.

The same poll last week, taken at the height of the row over Mr Obama's minister in Chicago, Rev Jeremiah Wright, gave Mrs Clinton her first lead for weeks, 49 per cent to his 42 per cent.

Snippets of Mr Wright's sermons calling on members of the congregation to sing "God damn America" had been playing on cable television. Last Tuesday, Mr Obama gave a speech in Philadelphia rejecting Mr Wright's views but refusing to disown him, and putting Mr Wright in the context of race relations in the US overall.

Both the Obama and Clinton campaign teams have been anxiously awaiting the first poll to see how the speech played with the public. Gallup began polling on Wednesday and continued through to Friday. The poll was of 1,264 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters.

Mr Obama left the campaign trail on Friday for a holiday. He is due back tomorrow, resuming campaigning in North Carolina, one of 10 states still to vote on the Democratic nomination. The big test will be the Pennsylvania primary on April 22nd.

If Mr Obama can keep Mrs Clinton's expected victory to 55-45, he will remain on course to take the nomination.

- (Guardian service)

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times