Brown praises Obama ahead of poll

LONDON, Wednesday - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown voiced support today for US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, saying he would help Americans struggling with an economic downturn.

In a move seen by some British media as a break with a political convention requiring foreign leaders to remain neutral ahead of US elections, Mr Brown praised Mr Obama as a fellow “progressive politician” who would help ordinary Americans in tough times. With eight weeks to go before the presidential election, Mr Obama and his Republican rival John McCain are neck-and-neck in domestic opinion polls.

Mr Brown described the race for the White House as “electrifying” and said: “It is the Democrats who are generating the ideas to help people through more difficult times.”

“To help prevent people from losing their home, Barack Obama has proposed a Foreclosure Prevention Fund to increase emergency pre-foreclosure counselling, and help families facing repossession,” he wrote in an article in The Monitor magazine, a monthly political publication.

Asked whether the prime minister’s comments were a sign that he favoured Mr Obama over Mr McCain, a spokesman for Mr Brown said: “The prime minister is not endorsing a candidate in the US presidential elections and never would.”

The spokesman noted that Mr Brown had also used the article to praise left-of-centre governments in Australia and New Zealand, saying they were working hard to protect the vulnerable in their societies from the effects of the global credit squeeze.

That all would

A BBC poll of 22 countries around the world yesterday showed that all would prefer to see Mr Obama elected US president ahead of Mr McCain. In 17 of the 22, people expect relations between the United States and the rest of the world to improve if Mr Obama wins.

Meanwhile, Mr Obama leads Mr McCain by 47 per cent to 46 per cent, a statistical dead heat, in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday.

Mr Obama’s lead is down from his 3-point advantage in August and a six-point edge in July, NBC said on its website.

The survey was taken from Saturday to Monday and had a margin of error of 3.3 points. The findings were similar to other polls showing a tightening race since the Democratic and Republican conventions.

But, Democrats are beginning to worry about losing the presidential election. After months of leading in voter enthusiasm, fundraising and most surveys, Mr Obama lost momentum to Mr McCain after the Republican convention last week.

Mr McCain has received a boost from his pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate and has surged ahead of Mr Obama in some national polls, while running even in others. Mr McCain, 72, is drawing larger crowds to his rallies than ever before. Mr Obama’s campaign, meanwhile, may struggle to keep up the record fundraising pace it has maintained all year. The campaign’s ‘‘novelty has worn off,’’ said Representative Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat. The Obama campaign ‘‘seems to have lost its speed, its response time.’’

Republicans used their St Paul, Minnesota, convention to focus attention on McCain’s personal character and leadership qualities, and highlight his independence from President George W. Bush.

The message was reinforced by the selection of Palin, who was presented as a reformer who fought oil companies and took on her party in Alaska.