Polls declare Obama victor of 2nd debate

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Barack Obama beat John McCain in Tuesday night's debate in the view of many who watched, according to polls.

An online Ipsos/McClatchy poll found that undecided voters thought Obama won by 61 to 39 percent. Before the debate, the 389 undecided voters favored McCain 55-45, but afterward, they shifted to favor Obama over McCain, 57 percent to 43 percent.

CNN's national poll of debate watchers, meanwhile, found that 54 percent said Obama did the better job, compared with 30 percent who said McCain performed better. While 51 percent of those polled said they had a favorable opinion of McCain, unchanged from before the debate started, 64 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Obama, up 4 percentage points from before the debate.

By more than a 2-to-1 ratio, 65 percent to 28 percent, more people said they found Obama more likable than McCain during the debate, according to the CNN/Opinion Research survey.

On the question of who won the debate, a CBS News/Knowledge Networks poll of uncommitted voters found a similar result. Forty percent said Obama won; 26 percent said McCain won; and 34 percent thought it was a tie.