CBS, CNN Polls Have Obama Winning Debate; Politico Survey Says It Was A Tie

October 16, 2008 9:13 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Two out of three snap polls conducted Wednesday night have Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) winning the debate by a margin of about 30 percentage points. The third poll has Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) trailing by only three points.

A CBS poll of uncommitted voters said Obama won, 53-22 percent.

Sixty-eight percent said they trusted Obama more on the issue of health care, while 30 percent said the same of McCain. Sixty-four percent believe Obama will raise their taxes, while 50 percent think the Republican senator will.

Obama raised his rating among voters who think he is the candidate who understands the economy better, from 54 percent to 68 percent. McCain raised his by 10 points to 48 percent.

Debate-watchers polled by CNN also believe Obama won the debate, with 58 percent saying the Democrat performed better and 31 percent saying McCain did the best job.

On health care, 62 percent said Obama would handle the issue better while 31 percent said the same of McCain. On taxes, 56 percent said the Democrat would be better, while 41 percent thought so of McCain.

Voters continued to trust Obama more when it came to the economy, with 59 percent choosing the Illinois senator on the issue and 24 percent going for McCain. In addition, 80 percent of debate-watchers said McCain "spent more time attacking during the debate," compared to 7 percent who said the same of Obama.

"Independents tend to prefer debates that are dominated by substance," CNN polling director Keating Holland said in a news release. "The perception that McCain attacked Obama... probably didn't help McCain with independents."

In contrast to this finding, independents in the snap survey conducted by Politico/InsiderAdvantage said McCain won the debate, 51-42 percent.

Overall, the survey of undecided debate-watchers remained undecided: 49 percent said Obama won, while 46 percent said McCain came out on top. The three-point gap separating the two candidates is within the poll's margin of error, making both candidates winners by a statistical tie.

An InsiderAdvantage poll conducted after the first debate, held on Sept. 26 at the University of Mississippi, also had no one winning. It said that among the 411 registered voters surveyed immediately after the forum, 42 percent said Obama won, while 41 percent said McCain won.

The debate Wednesday night at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York was the third and final presidential debate. Obama, according to polls including those by CBS, CNN and USA Today/Gallup, won the first two by double-digits.