Poll shows McCain more favorable candidate

WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- Likely U.S. Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain is seen as more favorable than either of his Democratic counterparts, a Gallup poll indicated.

McCain's 67 percent favorable rating over Sen. Barack Obama's 62 percent and Sen. Hillary Clinton's 53 percent, ties for his highest in Gallup polling history, the pollster said Tuesday.

McCain's favorable rating released Tuesday matches the 67 percent he received in February 2000, when he made his first run at the White House. McCain, R-Ariz., had favorable ratings of about 57 percent when he began his campaign last winter, but watched it sink to 41 percent.

The 62-percent rating for Obama, D-Ill., is the highest Gallup recorded for him since the first reading in December 2006. Obama's ratings have fluctuating between 58 percent and 61 percent in five Gallup Polls conducted since January.

The 53-percent favorable rating for Clinton, D-N.Y., represents a 5-point increase since late February.

Poll results are based on telephone interviews with 1,025 national adults conducted March 14-16, 2008, with a 3-percentage-point margin of error.