Republican Senator John McCain now leads Democratic Senator Barack Obama 45% to 44% among likely voters. The new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey also shows Obama leading former Governor Mitt Romney 48% to 39% when voters consider a hypothetical match-up.

McCain's strength in match-ups with Obama and other leading Democratic presidential candidates continues to belie his weakened position in the GOP nomination race. He is in fourth-place overall in the Republican contest, fifth in Iowa, and also lags in early primary-states.

A few months ago, following a rancorous immigration debate that pitted his policy views against those of many rank-and-file Republicans and well-publicized money troubles, the McCain campaign seemed to collapse. But it forged ahead on a leaner basis. And since then Senator McCain has witnessed a spate of stories crediting his ability to strive as an underdog.

In the current survey, McCain does better than Romney by four points among Republicans, by seven among Democrats, and by eight among unaffiliated voters.

In other recent surveys, McCain trails Senator Hillary Clinton by just one percentage point, and trails Senator John Edwards by seven points (Edwards leads other GOP opponents by even wider margins). McCain thus currently does better in match-ups with the top Democratic candidates than any of the other top four Republican candidates.

A plurality of 43% of all voters see Senator McCain as politically moderate, similar to the number who see Rudy Giuliani that way (see key stats for Republican and Democratic Presidential hopefuls).

John McCain is now viewed favorably by 50%, a five-point increase since two weeks ago. Mitt Romney is assessed favorably by 43%, unfavorably by 41%, and with uncertainty by 18%. Barack Obama is at 51% favorable, 42% unfavorable.

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