Poll: Trip seen as good, bad, indifferent

PRINCETON, N.J., July 29 (UPI) -- Americans say they don't know enough about Sen. Barack Obama's recent trip to offer an opinion, a Gallup-USA Today poll released Tuesday indicated.

Thirty-five percent had a positive opinion, while 26 percent said they had a negative opinion, poll results indicated. The rest -- more than a third -- said they didn't know enough about the likely Democratic presidential nominee's trip to the Middle East and Europe to offer an opinion either way.

The poll also asked about the media's coverage of the two major-party candidates: Obama, from Illinois, and his likely Republican challenger, Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Participants were more than twice as likely to say coverage of Obama is unfairly positive than to say it is unfairly negative. The opposite was true for McCain.

Gallup's Daily Tracking Poll gives Obama a 47 percent to 44 percent lead over McCain among registered voters, and among likely voters, 49 percent to 44 percent.

Since the previous Gallup-USA Today poll, Obama's image has fallen somewhat while McCain's has slightly improved, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said In the June 15-19 poll, 64 percent of respondents viewed Obama positively, compared with 61 percent in the latest poll. McCain's favorable rating rose from 59 percent to 62 percent.

Pollsters said the change may reflect the type of normal fluctuation seen in election seasons, or negative reactions to Obama's trip.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews conducted Friday through Sunday with 1,007 adults. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.