Democrat Barack Obama's five-point lead over Republican John McCain remains unchanged today, indicating that their final public debate did little to sway the US presidential race, a Reuters/C-Span/Zogby poll showed today.
Mr Obama's edge over his rival held steady at 49 per cent to 44 per cent among likely US voters in the four-day tracking poll, unchanged from results before the two men met on Wednesday for their third and last debate before the November 4th election.
The poll of 1,210 likely voters had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
Pollster John Zogby said the latest results - in which the most recent day's results are added and the oldest day's results are dropped in an effort to measure changing momentum - may not reflect the full impact of the debate.
"Only one-quarter of this sample is post-debate, so we'll have to wait a few more days to see," he said. "We'll have to look tomorrow to see if there was any McCain boost at all."
Quick polls taken after Wednesday's debate judged Mr Obama the victor, joining a string of surveys that show him ahead both in national polls and in most of the battleground states where the presidential election will be decided.
Mr Obama (47) has focused on the economy while on the campaign trail, appealing to voters buffeted by the global credit crisis and wild stock market swings on Wall Street.
Mr McCain (72) has sought to deliver his own economic message, along with aggressive attacks on Obama, but has failed to gain traction among crucial independent voters.
The Democratic senator held a 19-point lead in this group on Friday, up five points from yesterday's figures.
"It would seem the independents are solidifying around Obama, which would be important," Mr Zogby said.
Other national polls have given Mr Obama a double-digit overall lead, although most have him in a range of two to nine points ahead.
Both candidates continue to do well with their core supporters, with Mr Obama winning nine of every 10 black voters and a holding a 10-point lead among women voters. Mr McCain held a narrow 1-point lead among male voters and a larger 12-point lead among whites.
Independent Ralph Nader drew 2 per cent support in the poll, while Libertarian Bob Barr got 1 per cent, both unchanged from yesterday.
The US president is determined not by the most votes nationally but by a majority of the Electoral College, which has 538 members allotted to all 50 states and the District of Columbia in proportion to their representation in Congress.
Elsewhere, it turns out that the most famous plumber in America is not a qualified plumber and is not called Joe.
Joe Wurzelbacher has become a darling of conservatives for attacking Mr Obama's tax policies during a walkabout by the Illinois senator.
But the morning after he emerged as the unexpected star of Wednesday evening's US presidential debate, it emerged that his real name is Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher.
The Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters and Service Mechanics has also revealed that Mr Wurzelbacher was not a licensed member of their trade.
"That means that he has not completed the training program necessary for him to sit for a license test," said Tony Herrera, market recovery specialist for Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 50 in Toledo, Ohio.
"It's a shame that this guy has ended up in this situation because it seems like he's misrepresented himself - and for that matter the plumbing and pipefitting industry."
Reuters