Obama Gets Credit for Handling of Pastor Flap
Pew Research Center Poll: Comments by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Didn’t Hurt Obama’s Chances
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/27/2008 11:10:00 AM
The controversy surrounding the sermons of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, which has been the focus of much scrutiny by the news media during the past two weeks, drew more public attention than any other news out of the 2008 presidential race this year, according to a poll by The Pew Research Center.
More than one-half of those polled (51%) said they had heard "a lot" about it, and more than one-third of voters who said they were aware of the sermons also said it lowered their opinion of Obama.
Even so, that did not seem to have hurt his chances for the nomination.
In the poll, conducted March 19-22 among 1,503 adults, Obama still held a 49%-39% lead among Democrats, essentially unchanged from the findings in a similar poll in February (49%-40%).
Obama's continued standing appears to have been the result of his handling of the issue so far. Not only has his response been viewed positively by 84% his own supporters, Pew said, but "[it] also won a favorable response from a substantial proportion of [Sen. Hillary] Clinton [D-N.Y.] supporters [43%] and even from one-third of Republican voters."
