Barack Obama's popularity over John McCain is due mainly to his likeable personality, and partly to his programs, with Americans confident the Illinois senator will be able to salvage the country's battered image, say experts.
Speaking at a forum held by the United States-Indonesia Society (USINDO) in Jakarta on Tuesday, Peter D. Hart, a Washington-based pollster, said Obama led in polls because Americans saw the 46-year-old senator as likable and inspirational, and believed he could understand and relate to problems faced by the average person.
In recent polls Hart conducted for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal, the Democratic candidate led his Republican counterpart by a wide margin of 47 percent to 41 percent, while a Reuters/Zogby poll released Wednesday had Obama leading John McCain by 47 percent to 40 percent.
"Obama represents change and people perceive him as the candidate of hope. And by sharp contrast people are not ready to vote for McCain because they find him boring, uninspiring and a continuation of the Bush administration," Hart said.
He added Obama's inexperience, liberalism and lack of executive expertise could result in people not voting for him. In this case, McCain might be the preferred candidate because of his vast experience and humble and resilient personality.
Obama, contesting to be the first African-American U.S. president, clinched the Democratic Party's nomination last month after beating out New York Senator Hillary Clinton in an agonizingly protracted primary campaign.
He is now engaged in a five-month-long campaign against Arizona Senator McCain, a 71-year-old Vietnam veteran who was a former prisoner of war and staunch supporter of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, ahead of November's presidential election.
"The majority of people will put together character and what they offer in measuring candidates' quality. But at the end of the day, people count most on character. They will cast their votes for people they feel comfortable with," Hart said.
He said racial issues were no longer seen as major stumbling blocks for Obama, with 86 percent of those polled saying they were ready for an African-American president.
"I think the biggest challenges Obama faces now are making the right choice for vice president and making himself known to a wider public -- because there is a lot of misinformation about him," Hart said.
"Among the misinformation, 15 percent of people we surveyed still believe he is a Muslim."
Baskara T. Wardaya, a history professor at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta, said most Americans related more to Obama's humble personality and would feel more secure if he were president.
"He gives voice to middle-class American citizens and can relate to their daily concerns. This is in contrast to his Republican rival, who sides more with corporate interests, perhaps even to the detriment of middle-class Americans," he told The Jakarta Post by telephone.
Rizal Sukma, deputy executive director for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said "with Obama elected as president, half of the (U.S.'s) problems are solved".
He said people would vote for a candidate who could engage others in discussion to solve issues, rather than impose military might on its adversaries.
"Obama is very much aware of the U.S.'s declining image worldwide, and campaigning about the importance of adopting a diplomatic rather than military approach," he said.
"People believe he can restore America's image as an agreeable superpower."