Views of Barack Obama are more favorable than were opinions of John Kerry at a comparable time in the 2004 election cycle; two-thirds of all registered voters (66%) say they have a favorable impression of Obama, compared with just 31% who have an unfavorable opinion. In early October 2004, 53% expressed a positive opinion of Kerry, while 41% expressed a negative view. McCain's image (60% favorable vs. 35% unfavorable) is similar to George Bush's at about the same point in the 2004 campaign; at that time, 57% of voters had a favorable opinion of Bush while 40% felt unfavorably toward him.

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The Daily Number is a statistic, updated every weekday and typically drawn from Pew Research Center project findings, that highlights an important trend.

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