Forty-five percent (45%) of U.S. voters say they did not watch any of Barack Obama’s 30-minute television advertisement Wednesday night, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Thirty-one percent (31%) of voters watched the entire ad, eight percent (8%) most of it, and 15% some of it.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of likely McCain voters missed the whole thing, while 52% of those who plan to vote for Obama watched it all.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of the non-watchers were Republicans, compared to 26% of Democrats and, perhaps most significantly, 44% of voters not affiliated with either party.

While women consistently poll more strongly for Obama than men nationally, 47% of female voters didn’t watch the ad compared to 43% of men.

Over half (52%) of white voters did not watch any of it, while 56% of African-Americans watched all of it.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Democrats say they watched all of it, as did 12% of Republicans and 23% of unaffiliated voters. So did 31% of men and 30% of women.

Forty-three percent (43%) of those who have already voted watched all of the ad. Forty-eight percent (48%) of those who have yet to cast their ballots did not watch any of it. Nearly half (49%) of those who say they are certain to vote were non-watchers, while 26% of that group watched the entire program.

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Voters are fairly evenly divided over whether the networks that ran the Obama ad program should give John McCain equal time because the Republican’s expenditures are limited by his agreement to accept public financing of his campaign. Forty-two percent (42%) say the networks should give McCain equal time, but 45% disagree. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided.

Sixty percent (60%) of Republicans think McCain should be given equal time, but 64% of Democrats are opposed. Unaffiliated voters are closely divided but give the edge to equal time for McCain.

Obama also initially promised to accept public campaign financing but then opted to go the public fundraising route. This decision has allowed him to raise millions more than McCain and blanket the airwaves with advertising, including the 30-minute program that ran on seven networks -- CBS, NBC, Fox, Univision, MSNBC, BET and TV One. Early reports say over 33 million people watched.

Congressional Democrats are expected to push in the coming session for a restoration of the so-called Fairness Doctrine which would mandate political balance on the airwaves. Nearly half of Americans (47%) believe the government should require all radio and television stations to offer equal amounts of conservative and liberal political commentary. Democrats are more supportive of government involvement in the airwaves than Republicans and unaffiliated voters.

Nationally, Obama has been leading McCain every day for more than a month in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. He also has a healthy lead in the Electoral College projections.

Fifty-four percent (54%) say the ad makes them more likely to vote for Obama, even though 62% say it didn’t tell them anything that they didn’t already know about the Democratic presidential candidate.

Twenty-four percent (24%) say the ad makes them less likely to vote for Obama, while 20% say it will have no impact.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of female voters say the ad makes them more likely to vote for Obama versus 50% of men.

Twenty-one percent ( 21%) of GOP voters and 36% of unaffiliateds say the ad increases the likelihood that they will vote for Obama. Thirty-three percent (33%) of unaffiliated voters say they are now less likely to do so, but only four percent (4%) of Democrats agree.

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of voters also say the ad told them something about Obama that they didn’t already know, but nine percent (9%) are not sure. Fifty-four percent (54%) of voters ages 18 to 29 and 50% of those who will be voting for the first time in this election say the ad told them something new about the candidate.

Fifty-two percent (52%) believe it is at least somewhat likely that Obama can deliver on the kind of change he is promising in his campaign, including 26% who say it is Very Likely. Twenty-one percent (21%) say it is not all likely to happen.

Women are slightly more confident than men. Forty-seven percent (47%) of self-identified liberals say it is Very Likely, compared to 21% of moderates and 19% of conservatives.

Ninety-four percent (94%) of African-American voters say Obama is at least somewhat likely to deliver on his promise of change, with 60% saying it is Very Likely. Forty-seven percent (47%) of white voters share that confidence, but just 21% say it is Very Likely. Twenty-six percent (26%) of whites say it is not at all likely versus only three percent (3%) of blacks.

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