Obama fights perception he is elitist

By Caren Bohan

FORT WAYNE, Indiana (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama sought to convince Americans he is not elitist on Thursday as new polls showed his aura of inevitability has declined after weeks of negative headlines.

In an interview on NBC's "Today Show," Obama said both his rivals, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain, come from more privileged backgrounds than he did.

"The irony is, I think it is fair to say that both Michelle and I grew up in much less privileged circumstances than either of my two potential opponents," said Obama.

A flap over racially charged rhetoric from his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and Obama's comments that small-town Americans "cling" to guns and religion, appears to have taken a toll on the Illinois senator as he fights for the right to face McCain in the November election.

A New York Times/CBS News poll found that 51 percent of Democratic primary voters say they expect Obama to win their party's nomination battle against New York Sen. Clinton, down from 69 percent a month ago.

The poll said 48 percent of Democrats say he is the candidate with the best chance of defeating Arizona Sen. McCain, down from 56 percent a month ago.

Similarly, a Pew Research Center poll found a tighter national race between Obama and Clinton, with him holding a 47 percent to 45 percent lead over Clinton, down from 10 points a month ago.

"The tightening Democratic race reflects a modest but consistent decline in Obama's personal image rather than improved impressions of Clinton," the poll said.

Clinton, campaigning in Brownsburg, Indiana, tried to perpetuate the elitist label on Obama, pointing out his opposition to a proposal she supports, a temporary suspension of the federal tax on gasoline of 18.4 cents per gallon.

"I find it frankly a little offensive that people who don't have to worry about filling up their gas tank or what they buy when they go to the supermarket, think that it's somehow illegitimate to provide relief for the millions and millions of Americans who are on the brink of losing their jobs, unable to keep up with their daily expenses," she said.

Still, Obama picked up an important endorsement in Indiana when former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew announced he was switching support from Clinton to back Obama.

Andrew, DNC chairman when Bill Clinton was president, is a so-called superdelegate to the party's nominating convention this summer and as such can vote for the candidate of his choosing. With Obama holding a small lead over Clinton in the race for committed delegates, superdelegates may ultimately decide the Democratic nominee.

Indiana is one of two states, along with North Carolina, holding nominating contests on Tuesday that could have an impact on the race if either candidate wins both of them.

Andrew said in a long letter explaining his switch that it was time to "heal the rift in our party," end the lengthy nominating process and pick a candidate to face McCain.

"While I was hopeful that a long, contested primary season would invigorate our party, the polls show that the tone and temperature of the race is now hurting us," Andrew wrote.