The detailed responses are bad news for Mr McCain (the full data are available here). Eighty per cent of respondents and no fewer than 71% of those who do not cleave to either main party say Mr Obama has a better grasp of economics. Even among Republicans Mr Obama has the edge: 46% versus 23% say Mr Obama has the better grasp of the subject. ?I take McCain?s word on this one,? comments James Harrigan at the University of Virginia, a reference to Mr McCain?s infamous confession that he does not know as much about economics as he should. In fairness, Mr McCain?s lower grade may in part reflect greater candour about his weaknesses. Mr Obama?s more tightly managed image leaves fewer opportunities for such unvarnished introspection.
A candidate?s economic expertise may matter rather less if he surrounds himself with clever advisers. Unfortunately for Mr McCain, 81% of all respondents reckon Mr Obama is more likely to do that; among unaffiliated respondents, 71% say so. That is despite praise across party lines for the excellent Doug Holtz-Eakin, Mr McCain?s most prominent economic adviser and a former head of the Congressional Budget Office. ?Although I have tended to vote Republican,? one reply says, ?the Democrats have a deep pool of talented, moderate economists.?
