Going strictly by the numbers, the biggest perceived difference between Barack Obama and John McCain can be found on the issue of Iraq. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Democrats think the Democrat’s top priority in Iraq will be getting the troops home. Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys show that 76% believe McCain’s top priority will be to finish the job in the Middle Eastern country.

Most voters agree with Obama and say that getting the troops home should be the higher priority. These perceptions and other key stats of Election 2008 are being tracked regularly by Rasmussen Reports and updated continuously at Obama-McCain: By the Numbers.

In addition to Iraq, voters perceive a big difference between the candidates on tax and spending expectations. Fifty-one percent (51%) currently expect government spending to go up if Obama is elected while 29% expect that same outcome if McCain is elected. Twenty-three percent (23%) expect taxes to go up if McCain is elected and twice as many (47%) expect higher taxes with a President Obama.

These numbers come at a time when Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows Barack Obama with a modest but steady lead over McCain. The Democrat also leads in the Electoral College and data released yesterday shows that voters see Obama as closer to the political center than they did a month ago.

Voters see less difference between the candidates on other aspects of the campaign. A narrow plurality see McCain as the better leader while a similar plurality sees Obama as having values closer to their own. Forty-eight percent (48%) say a McCain Administration would have similar policies to President Bush while 47% say Obama would pursue liberal, big-government solutions.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters believe that McCain views American society as generally fair and decent while 45% think Obama shares that view.

Voters are fairly evenly divided as to which candidate they trust more on the economy, energy, ethics, Iraq, and taxes. McCain is trusted more on national security issues while Obama has the edge on the environment, health care, and education. Ironically, at a time when McCain is promising to balance the federal budget, voters trust Obama more to accomplish that goal. Data released yesterday shows that voters believe a balanced budget would be good for the economy but doubt that McCain can deliver a balanced budget.

The numbers referred to in this article will change as the campaign wears on and the latest updates will always be found at Obama-McCain: By the Numbers.

You can use that page as a reference source with links to recent articles on all aspects of Election 2008. Premium Members can follow links to crosstabs and tables documenting the trends on everything from which candidate is a better leader to the Generic Congressional Ballot and what people expect the Presidential Election outcome to be.

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