Gallup Daily: Obama Support Holding Despite Small-Town “Bitter” Flap

A new national Gallup Daily tracking poll shows no signs that the controversy swirling around Senator Barack Obama’s comments about people who live in small towns is sparking political fallout:

Barack Obama, who has come under attack by his presidential rivals for describing small-town voters as “bitter,” seems to be weathering the storm to this point as far as voters are concerned. He maintains a 10 percentage point lead over Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, 50% to 40%, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking.

That 10-point lead matches Obama’s best of the campaign, and even as the controversy has dominated the political airwaves, Obama’s support remained strong in tracking interviews conducted on Saturday and Sunday. It is likely Clinton and Republican John McCain will continue to remind voters of the remarks, and the possibility remains that it could affect voters in the coming days, but so far they seem unaffected by the controversy.

Obama has now held a significant lead over Clinton in Democratic voters’ nomination preferences for the last eight days, averaging roughly an 8-point lead, compared with the current 10-point spread. During this time, 50% of Democratic voters have supported him on average, matching the latest figure for interviewing conducted April 11-13.

Another factor to consider if you want to try and guess the outcomes of upcoming polls: Obama has now launched a counter offensive against Clinton and McCain. Will this have an impact?

And the impact in Pennsylvania?

Polls vary.

But a new ARG poll has Clinton opening up a 20 point lead now. Some say this poll is inaccurate.

The keys will be (1) poll trending in coming days and (2) whether Clinton or Obama can can use this week’s debate to advance their campaign (or sandbag the other’s).

Here’s the new Pollster.com graph with the ARG poll factored in:

Blog reaction to the Gallup poll HERE.