Poll Tracker

Barack Obama has opened up a double-digit lead in yet another poll, running ahead of John McCain by 53 percent to 43 percent among likely voters with 1 percent preferring someone else, 1 percent supporting neither and 2 percent undecided in a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted Oct. 8-11. The margin of error is 3 points. That's a 6 point jump from the poll conducted Sept. 29. A Newsweek poll released over the weekend had Obama ahead 52 percent to 41 percent.

Obama's favorable to unfavorable numbers are 64 percent to 33 percent, a positive swing of 9 points since early September, while McCain stands at 52 percent to 45 percent, a negative swing of 16 points. At the same time, President Bush's approval rating is 23 percent, below former President Nixon's lowest, and one point away from the record low registered by Harry Truman in 1952. Fifty-one percent of registered voters believe McCain would lead the nation in the same direction as Bush.

The economy and voters' dim view of the direction of the country are clearly driving Obama's success so far. Ninety percent of voters say the country is heading in the wrong direction. Nine in 10 are worried about the country's economic direction, nearly seven in 10 are worried about their families own finances and 55 percent call the economy the top issue in the campaign. The number of Americans who feel they'll have enough money to carry them through retirement has fallen from 69 percent three years ago to 44 percent.

Registered voters trust Obama over McCain on the economy by 53 percent to 37 percent. They say he better understands their economic problems by 58 percent to 28 percent and they trust him more to help the middle class by 59 percent to 31 percent.