The Democratic Party's White House nominee, Sen. Barack Obama has a 6 percent-point lead over his Republican rival John McCain in the presidential race, says the the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, released on Wednesday. Obama leads McCain 47 percent to 41 percent for the November 4 election, unchanged from last month.

But according to the poll, 55 percent people believe Obama, a 46-year-old first-term Illinois senator, would be the dicey choice for president, while 35 percent said that of McCain, 71, a fourth-term Arizona senator. But Obama’s lead over McCain increases to 13 points when third-party candidates Ralph Nader and Bob Barr are included— with Obama at 48 percent, McCain at 35 percent, Nader at 5 percent and Barr at 2 percent.

“When it comes to mood, the Republicans face very long odds,” says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Neil Newhouse. “And when it comes to perceptions of Barack Obama, I think the Democrats and Barack Obama have a job to do.”
The survey was conducted of 1,003 registered voters from Friday to Monday, July 18-21, during Obama's overseas trip. It has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.

“This remains Barack Obama’s election to win,” Hart says. “In the end, the election is about reassuring voters and removing doubts.”