New York, Nov 5: The financial crisis in the United States was main concern of the voters which led to the defeat of Senator John McCain in the race for the White House.

“I mean, just look at the figures. We have been put in the middle of a dire economic downturn, and we need change,” the Washington Post quoted Jackie Barnard, 62, of the mostly Republican bastion of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, as saying.

Preliminary poll data showed the economy was the paramount concern of 62 percent, or nearly two-thirds, of voters.

The war in Iraq was listed as the top worry by just 10 percent of voters, while terrorism and health care followed at a meager 9 percent each. he numbers reflected a tectonic shift in the attitudes of voters.

Many began the year casting primary ballots largely on the basis of the candidates’ views on the Iraq war - John McCain for it, Obama against - but ended up worried more about the economic battles in their own lives.

For McCain, the economic collapse of the last few weeks was not just a headwind but a Category 5 hurricane, experts said.

“McCain was carrying a lot of baggage from the beginning - the war, the recession, an unpopular President. But when Wall Street collapsed, it collapsed right on top of the McCain campaign,” said Dan Schnur, McCain’s communications chief from his run in 2000.

The irony, added Schnur, is that McCain’s success in advocating for the surge strategy in Iraq - which many see as helping to improve conditions there - probably hurt him in the long run. (ANI)