John McCain and Barack Obama face different challenges when it comes to winning swing voters – a fickle, and, as the election nears, shrinking group of Americans. Jeffrey Jones, one of the Gallup editors, wrote last week that the number of swing voters is declining – an expected pattern now that both parties have finished their presidential nominating conventions.
The survey also asked these swing voters about reasons for their indecision. Senator McCain’s weakness with this group centers on his economic platform (among swing voters, 56% say Obama is superior on the economy, compared to 19% who pick McCain). So the internals from the latest Gallup poll showing a sharp improvement for McCain on the issue of the economy are welcome news generally, but specifically among the critical swing voter group. Conversely, Senator Obama’s weakness with many of these undecided Americans is his lack of national security and foreign policy background. However, Jones observes:
