A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday shows Democrats holding a 21-point advantage over Republicans when it comes to choosing which party is better equipped to handle the nation's problems. However, poll respondents don't seem to be blaming McCain, R-Ariz., and the presumptive GOP nominee for president, for those problems. In a matchup against Democratic front-runner Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., McCain trials 51 percent to 44 percent.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., leads McCain in a hypothetical general election matchup, 49 percent to 46 percent.

The Post's analysis of the poll results revealed that more than 80 percent of respondents said they are convinced the country is on the wrong course, the biggest margin in that category since early 1993. But, it said, McCain seems to have been successful in distancing himself from U.S. President George Bush, whose approval rating has slipped to 31 percent.

The Post said the telephone poll included 1,122 adults and was conducted May 8-11. Its margin of error was 3 percentage points.