Obama takes a stunning 11-point lead over McCain
9 Oct 2008, 1629 Hrs

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Washington, Oct 9 Democratic White House nominee Barack Obama has opened up a stunning 11-point lead over his Republican rival John McCain, his largest edge of the entire campaign, in the latest Gallup Poll.

Obama, whose support has shot up in several national polls since the economic meltdown started dominating the news, now tops McCain 52 to 41 percent, the New York Post reported.

That's the most support Obama has registered in the survey, taken before Thursday night's debate.

Obama hasn't relinquished the lead in the poll since he went ahead in late September, and he has trailed only during two periods since the start of the summer.

Obama's new high-water mark comes at a time when he has seized substantial leads in many of the battleground states that will determine the winner.

He leads McCain 52-42 percent in a new Survey USA poll in Wisconsin, a 2004 John Kerry state that McCain has made one of his top targets after pulling out of Michigan last week.

Obama's rise has coincided with massive spending on the TV airwaves, where he is relentlessly exploiting a money advantage.

The Democratic nominee has outspent McCain and the Republican National Committee by nearly 7 million dollar nationwide over the last week, according to data assembled by the Wisconsin Advertising Project.

Obama more than doubled McCain's spending in Florida, 2.2 million dollar to 659,000 dollar, while outspending him 8-to-1 in North Carolina, 1.2 million dollar to 148,000 dollar last week.

Obama had a 500,000 dollar spending edge in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. (ANI)