Poll Tracker

A consistent theme running through national and state polls is that Barack Obama usually comes out on top on the question of which candidate best understands the problems Americans face in their lives. So the findings of a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Oct. 10-12 are not surprising: voters say this describes Obama by 73 percent to 26 percent. Fifty percent of voters say they do not believe this about McCain while 48 percent do.

Fifty-one percent of voters also believe that Obama more than McCain has a clear plan for solving the country's problems compared to 35 percent for McCain. It's a closer call on the question of who voters think shares their values. Fifty-eight percent believe that of Obama and 50 percent of McCain. Sixty-three percent consider McCain a strong and decisive leader; 61 percent say the same of Obama.