Gallup poll finds Obama leads on economy

PRINCETON, N.J., June 24 (UPI) -- A Gallup poll released Tuesday indicates likely Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama leads his probable GOP opponent on key economic issues.

While Obama, D-Ill., also leads presumptive Republican nominee John McCain on another issue judged to be a key one, energy policy, McCain holds a single-issue advantage over Obama on dealing with terrorism, the poll found.

The Gallup organization, based in Princeton, N.J., conducted the survey of 1,625 U.S. adults between June 15-19. The poll had a margin of error of 3 percent. Respondents ranked eight national issues by importance and told pollsters which of the two major party candidates would best handle them.

McCain's only lead among the eight issues was in terrorism, where he won by a 19 point margin. But Obama was solidly ahead of McCain on the two issues ranked most important -- energy issues (a 19 point margin) and the economy (16 point margin).

"Regardless of the cause, the finding that Obama has significant strength on domestic issues is potentially quite meaningful in this year's election, given that gas prices and the economy are the two issues the public is most likely to see as important in choosing between presidential candidates," Gallup said in a release.