The Barack Obama camp can probably breathe a sigh of relief. A new Gallup Poll – done after he said he would talk with the leaders of arch enemies like Iran without preconditions and would O.K. attacks against militants inside Pakistan without permission from the country — shows he did not lose much support at all.

The poll (conducted Aug. 13-16) found a whopping 23-point lead for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton over Obama, 48 percent to 25 percent, but it was only a one point drop for him from early August.

Obama took a lot of fire over his remarks, with some Democratic rivals saying he was too inexperienced to be president. Surprising no one, Obama disagreed.
Gallup also found that support for Democratic rival John Edwards ticked up a meager point to 13 percent in its latest poll. Support continued to fall for longshots like New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

When they stuck former Vice President and so-far non-candidate Al Gore in the mix, Clinton led with 42 percent to Gore’s 15 percent.
The survey had a 5-point margin of error.

(Photo: Reuters)