McCain, Obama in lead position

According to a new poll, John McCain and Barack Obama are both in leading position, following the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

An ABC News/ Washington Post poll showed that McCain is now at the top of Republicans. From the Democrats, Obama has caught up with Hillary Clinton and recovered his earlier lead position, which he gained during the Iowa caucuses.

Obama's gain is, in great part, due to the support he has received from the African-Americans. They now back Obama by a 60 – 32 percent margin, while only a little earlier, they supported Clinton by a margin of 52 – 39 percent.

Below are some of the major changes over the last month:

• McCain's popularity within the Republican Party as the most electable contender has almost tripled. His rating as the strongest leader within the party has doubled. He has won double-digit gains in trust to resolve the Iraq problem and terrorism.


• Mike Huckabee's favorability rating has also risen by 21 points, to 42 percent.


• On the other hand, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani favorability rating has dropped by 4 points and is now 46 percent.


• Fred Thompson's favorability rating too has dropped by 3 points, to 30 percent.


• Mitt Romney's personal favorability rating has shot up by 6 points, to 34 percent.


• Obama's favorability rating has shot up by 12 points, to 63 percent. He now leads male voters, 9 points over Clinton.


• Clinton has gone up by 8 points in her favorability rating, which is now about 58 percent. She now leads women voters by 11 percent over Obama.


• John Edward's favorability rating has similarly risen by 8 points to 57 percent.

While 29 percent voters say that the economy in the US is the most crucial issue facing the country, 20 percent voters believe it is the war in Iraq. Ten percent voters hold health care as the most important issue.