Poll: McCain more trusted as leader

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. voters have far more trust in John McCain as someone prepared to be commander in chief, a CNN poll released Wednesday indicates.

While 58 percent of those surveyed said the presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, is prepared for the job, 78 percent said that of McCain, the likely Republican candidate.

Opinion Research Corp. surveyed 1,023 adults by telephone Saturday and Sunday, after Obama announced Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, would be his running mate.

More than half of those surveyed, 51 percent, said McCain would be a stronger leader than Obama in an international crisis, while 41 percent disagreed.

The poll found McCain has also chipped away at Obama's lead on some domestic issues with the two in a near tie on which would do a better job on taxes and gas prices.

Neither has really convinced voters he has an overall plan to deal with U.S. problems, CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.

"Neither candidate scores well on that measure, and the conventions are the first and best chance to present clear solutions to current problems," Holland said.

The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.