ON THE TRAIL

June 25, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama has captured a sizable lead over Sen. John McCain at the opening of the general election campaign for president, the Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll has found. Registered voters chose Obama over McCain by 49 percent to 37 percent in the national poll conducted last weekend, and it appeared that Obama's advantage stems from his positions on domestic issues. Both Democrats and independent voters prefer that Obama handle the nation's economic problems, the public's top concern. Many voters consider McCain the more experienced candidate and the one best equipped to protect the nation against terrorism - but they rank those concerns below their worries about the economy.

McCain said yesterday the federal government should practice the energy efficiency he preaches, pledging as president to switch official vehicles to green technologies and do the same for office buildings. "Our federal government is never shy about instructing the American people in good environmental practice," McCain said in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Obama said yesterday that evangelical leader James Dobson was "making stuff up" when he accused Obama of distorting the Bible. Dobson used his Focus on the Family radio program to highlight excerpts of a speech Obama gave in June 2006. Speaking to reporters, Obama said the speech made the argument that people of faith, like himself, "try to translate some of our concerns in a universal language so that we can have an open and vigorous debate ... I think you'll see that he [Dobson] was just making stuff up ... "