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Opinion: On Barack Obama’s to-do list? Coalesce Democrats

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When the curtain rose on Campaign ‘08, one storyline seemed set in stone: Democrats, bonded by their disdain for President Bush, would remain uncommonly united; Republicans, lacking a clear heir apparent, would for once prove the more fractious party.

So much for that plot, as underscored by three recent national polls.

Each showed Barack Obama with only a narrow lead, despite leading John McCain among independent voters. The key to McCain’s ability to hang tough? Greater support from his fellow Republicans than Obama can claim from other Democrats.

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Here are the details:

* In the Pew Research Center poll, 83% of Democrats backed Obama, 87% of Republicans supported McCain. For the entire sample, Obama led, 46% to 43%.

* In the Quinnipiac University survey, 79% of Democrats backed Obama, 83% of Republicans supported McCain. The figures for the entire sample: Obama, 47%, McCain 42%.

* The differences in party loyalty are more pronounced in the new L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll. In that survey, Obama was backed by 78% of Democrats, McCain by 90% of Republicans. The overall result: Obama, 45%; McCain 43%.

Obama has many goals to accomplish at his party’s convention next week. Prime among them is solidifying his base.

-- Don Frederick

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