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Obama Showing Readiness

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By LIZ SIDOTI

The Associated Press

Published: September 30, 2008

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's calmly assured response to the economic crisis and solid debate performance have bolstered the view among voters that he is ready to be chief executive, a crucial threshold he needs to cross to win the presidency.

The improved standing for Obama, a candidate still not well-known, was captured by polling this weekend, in interviews with Democrats and Republicans and by the response of his rival, John McCain, who intensified his criticism that the young senator lacks the experience and judgment to lead the nation.

Obama countered that McCain is the one who "doesn't get it" and likened his GOP rival to "a bet we can't afford."

McCain lags in recent polls that also show Obama gaining some ground in overcoming his candidacy's biggest hurdle - convincing skeptics who have trouble seeing the 47-year-old freshman senator, vying to be the first black president, in the White House.

Still, the political environment is unpredictable, underscored by the stock market's dramatic plunge Monday after the House rejected a $700 billion financial industry bailout.

That raised the question anew of whether voters will be willing to take a chance on the untested Obama and his message of change, or whether they will opt for the more experienced McCain despite public antipathy toward the GOP, his acknowledgment that economics is not his strongest issue and his uneven reaction to the crisis. Conversely, it's possible that hunger for economic change may outweigh voters' concerns about the Democrat.

Within an hour of the House defeating the bill, Obama sought to calm fears by saying: "I'm confident we're going to get there, but it's going to be rocky."

McCain issued a statement from senior policy adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin that blamed Obama and Democrats for the legislation's failure - even though more Republicans than Democrats voted against it.

Unconventional in many ways, this campaign has become more a referendum on Obama's readiness to serve rather than a judgment on McCain after eight years of GOP rule under Bush. Thus, Obama is trying to meet the qualification threshold as McCain seeks to undercut him.

In an election year that favors Democrats, Obama has been unable to sustain a lead of a couple of percentage points in key electoral-rich states such as Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

A recent AP-Yahoo News poll showed that doubts about Obama's competency loom even larger than race.

Thus, Obama has sought to allay such concerns through words and actions.

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