Obama has narrow lead on McCain: Reuters poll

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama has a narrow 5-point lead on Republican John McCain in the U.S. presidential race, but holds a big early edge with the crucial swing voting blocs of independents and women, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Two weeks after clinching the Democratic nomination and kicking off the general election campaign, Obama leads McCain by 47 percent to 42 percent. That is down slightly from Obama's 8-point advantage on McCain in May, before Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York left the Democratic race.

But Obama holds a big 52 percent to 30 percent edge among independents and 51 percent to 36 percent among women -- two critical voting blocs that could help determine the winner in November's presidential election.

"Obama's significant lead among independents puts him over the top, and that's a problem for McCain," pollster John Zogby said. "McCain is going to have to appeal to independents in some way to win, and right now he has a lot of work to do."

Obama, 46, still must overcome questions about his relative lack of experience, the survey showed. More than half of likely voters agree with criticism the first-term senator from Illinois does not have the necessary experience.

Questions about McCain's age -- he will be 72 in August and would be the oldest person to become president if elected -- do not resonate as strongly with voters, the survey found. Nearly two-thirds disagreed with the idea that McCain's age should be a factor in the presidential race.

"The experience question is a hurdle for Obama, but so far voters seem to have other things on their mind like change," Zogby said. "Age is an issue for McCain, but it doesn't appear to be an overwhelming problem."

Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, triumphed in early June after a grueling five-month Democratic nomination fight with Clinton. McCain clinched the Republican race in March.