Obama Weathers Wright Controversy, But Many Voters Still Disturbed
Read the full NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll and the stories about it from the Journal and NBC
The controversy over the racially-charged statements of Barack Obama’s ex-pastor, Jeremiah Wright, have not hurt him in his match-ups against Hillary Clinton or John McCain, according to an NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll conducted March 24-25. But even though the Journal’s headline was “Pastor Flap Hasn’t Hurt Obama,” the numbers did show that 55 percent of all voters were disturbed by Wright’s statements and 32 percent of those who saw Obama’s speech on race were “dissatisfied with (the) explanation of association with Reverend Wright.”
In the Democratic race, Clinton and Obama are even at 45 percent each. The last NBC News/Journal poll two weeks ago had Clinton ahead 47 percent to 43 percent. The bad news for Clinton is that more voters view her negatively than positively – 48 percent somewhat or very negative, 37 percent very or somewhat positive. Two weeks ago, 45 percent viewed her positively, and 43 percent viewed her negatively. Obama is viewed positively by 49 percent of voters and negatively by 32 percent.