By Michael McAuliff
Daily News Washington Bureau
The economy, Sarah Palin and his own recent debate performance have propelled Barack Obama to a commanding lead in key swing states—and left John McCain in dire straits, according to Quinnipiac University's latest survey.
In Florida, Obama has surged from seven points behind to eight points ahead in the past 20 days. He now leads McCain 51% to 43% in the Sunshine State, said Quinnipiac's Florida expert, Peter Brown.
Both candidates, who are members of the U.S. Senate, were expected in Washington on Wednesday to vote on an expanded economic rescue package. The stock market plunged dramatically on Monday after the House of Representatives failed to approve a $700 billion plan to prop up the country's financial system.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was at McCain's Sedona, Arizona, compound to bone up for Thursday's only vice presidential confrontation. Sen. Joe Biden, meanwhile, was preparing at his Delaware home. Biden also planned to return to Washington for the vote.
Obama was returning to the capital after a campaign stop in Wisconsin, McCain was to be in Missouri.
In Ohio, Obama leads 50% to 42%, and in Pennsylvania, he's almost put the race out of sight, building a 54% to 39% lead - in spite of his problems with white working class-voters.
"Sen. John McCain has his work cut out for him if he is to win the presidency," Brown said. "There does not appear to be a role model for such a comeback in the last half century."
Quinnipiac finished its previous set of surveys just before the presidential debate last Friday. This batch was wrapped up on Monday. They all showed a bump for Obama.
Coinciding with McCain's dip was the less-than-stellar coverage he got for jetting around the country and "suspending" his campaign to deal with the financial crisis that remains to be dealt with.
He's also been dragged down by his veep partner, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whose dramatic first splash into national politics had pushed McCain into a lead last month. But after more scrutiny by the press and a spate of poor TV performances, her favorability ratings in the three states has slipped into the mid-30s, Quinnipiac found. McCain, in contrast, still gets positive marks.
"Sen. Obama clearly won the debate, voters say. Their opinion of Gov. Sarah Palin has gone south and the Wall Street meltdown has been a dagger to McCain's political heart," said Brown. "Roughly a third of voters, and almost as large a share of the key independent vote, say McCain did more harm than good in trying to resolve the financial crisis."
Quinnipiac noted that no one has won the white House since 1960 without winning two of the three states.
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