Poll shows voters' doubts about Palin increasing

A growing number of voters have concluded that Sen. John McCain's running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, is not qualified to be vice president, weighing down the Republican ticket in the last days of the campaign, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

All told, 59 percent of voters surveyed said Palin was not prepared for the job, up 9 percentage points since the beginning of the month. Nearly a third of voters polled said the vice-presidential selection would be a major factor influencing their vote for president, and those voters broadly favor Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.

Voters said they had much more confidence in Obama to pick qualified people to serve in his administration than they did in McCain.

Among the poll's findings:

• Obama is maintaining his lead, with 51 percent of likely voters supporting him and 40 percent supporting McCain in a head-to-head matchup.

• The number of people who say they believe white and black people have an equal chance of getting ahead in America today rose.

• McCain's focus on taxes, including his talk about "Joe the Plumber," seems to be having some effect, as a growing number of voters now say McCain would not raise their taxes.

• Eighty-nine percent of people view the economy negatively, and 85 percent think the country is on the wrong track.

• Obama continues to have a significant advantage on key issues like the economy, health care and the war in Iraq.

The survey found that opinions of Obama and McCain had hardened considerably, as nine out of 10 voters who said they had settled on a candidate said their minds were made up. Just 4 percent of voters were undecided, and when they were pressed to say whom they leaned toward, the shape of the race remained essentially the same.

When likely voters were asked whom they would vote for in an expanded field that included several third-party candidates, Obama got the support of 52 percent of them, McCain 39 percent, Bob Barr 1 percent, and Ralph Nader 2 percent.

The nationwide telephone poll was conducted Saturday through Wednesday with 1,439 adults nationwide, including 1,308 registered voters. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.