Just 14% of voters believe there’s not much difference between Barack Obama and John McCain in terms of how they’ll actually perform as President. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that 77% disagreed and see a significant difference. These views are held fairly evenly across partisan and ideological lines. Lower income voters and those with less education are most likely to say there’s not much difference.

Twenty-nine percent (29%) say the election campaign between Obama and McCain is likely to be exciting. Sixteen percent (16%) say it will be boring and 51% believe it will be somewhere between those two extremes. African-American voters and Hispanic voters are more likely than White voters to say the election will be exciting. But, there is little overall difference between Republicans and Democrats.

Looking back on the Democratic Party Nomination process, 37% said that campaign was exciting while 21% thought it was boring and 39% ranked it somewhere in between. Democrats found the competition far more exciting than Republicans or unaffiliated voters.

Only 18% of voters expect a landslide election this year—that includes 13% who expect Obama to win a landslide victory and 5% who foresee a McCain landslide. Thirty-one percent (31%) envision a modest Obama victory, 22% expect a modest McCain victory, and 26% say it’s just too close to call.

Sixty-four percent (64%) of Democrats say Obama is likely to win and another 22% say it’s too close to call. Among Republicans, 50% expect a McCain victory and 24% say it’s too close.

Among African-Americans, 71% expect an Obama victory and 21% say it’s too close. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of White Voters expect Obama to win, 30% see McCain winning, and 24% say too close to call.

The survey found that an amazing 22% of Likely Voters say they spent more than an hour talking politics and elections last Sunday. Thirty-nine percent (39%) limited their political chatter to 15 minutes or less including 21% who were politics-free all day. Thirty-seven percent (37%) spent between 15 minutes and an hour discussing politics.

Among those obsessed enough with the campaign to spend more than an hour discussing it, 41% expect Obama to win, 34% pick McCain, and 23% say it’s too close to call.

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