国际英语新闻：U.S. presidential race deadlocked

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The race for the White House is now deadlocked at 47 percent for Democrat Barack Obama and 46 percent for Republican John McCain among registered voters, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday.

The contest is also about even among those who said they are the most likely to vote in November: 49 percent for McCain, 47 percent for Obama.

    Both candidates solidified support among party loyalists during their parties' conventions, but it is the Republican nominee who enters the campaign's final stretch with newfound momentum.

U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks to the media after a campaign stop in Dayton, Ohio, Sept. 9, 2008

Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain points to supporters during the final session of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota Sept. 4, 2008.

Much of the shift toward McCain stems from gains among white women, voters his team hoped to sway with the pick of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate.

    White women shifted from an eight-point pre-convention edge for Obama to a 12-point McCain advantage now.

    McCain has also improved his standing on the contest's core issues, and there has been a significant narrowing of Obama's advantage as the candidate better suited to shake up Washington.

    The senator from Arizona has a 17-point lead on which candidate can better handle an unexpected crisis and, for the first time, a double-digit advantage as the one more trusted on international affairs.

    He also has a 10-point lead on dealing with the war in Iraq, an issue that had divided voters since the outset of the campaign.

    And on economy, the dominant issue of the race, McCain has whittled Obama's advantage to five points, the smallest it has been all year.

    With partisan lock-in more complete, the race for independents will invariably heat up. In the new poll, independents now break narrowly for McCain -- 50 percent to 43 percent. It is a small advantage, but the Republican's first of the campaign.

    The poll was conducted by telephone Sept. 5-7 among a random national sample of 1,133 adults, including interviews with 961 registered voters.