Obama Opens 12-Point Lead

Barack Obama has a 12-point lead (49%-37%) over John McCain in a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. With Bob Barr and Ralph Nader in the mix, the margin grows to 15 points (48% to 33%). The poll suggests that both Democrats and independents think Obama will do the best job of fixing the economy, the top issue among voters. The candidates are tied among white voters with 39% each.

More than half of Republicans are “not enthusiastic” about their choice, while 81% of Obama's supporters claim the opposite. Only 23% of voters approve of the current president’s work. Meanwhile, Talking Points Memo marvels that Obama and McCain are in a statistical dead heat in Indiana—where Bush beat Kerry by 21 points. (More Barack Obama stories.)