More From The Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll

The poll of 814 likely voters, taken Tuesday through Friday by Selzer & Co., came at the close of a key stretch of the fall campaign. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Overall:  Obama 54%, McCain 37%

Independent Vote:  Obama 54%, McCain 31%

Confidence in Candidate:

--Complete confidence: Obama supporters <60%, McCain supporters roughly 50%

--Some misgivings:  Obama supporters roughly 33%, McCain supporters roughly 50%

Influence of Economy:

-- >10% said they made their decision since the recent economic troubles on Wall Street

-- Roughly 66% said they decided many months ago

-- Roughly 35% said they have decided in the past couple of months

--58% say the most important trait is who is best able to fix problems with the US economy

Is best able to fix problems with the US economy: Obama 53%, McCain 32%

Has the needed experience to lead: Mccain 48%, Obama 41%

Can best keep America secure: Obama 47%, McCain 45%

Best understands people like you: Obama 57%, McCain 35%

Will be the best at winning the respect of world leaders: 57%, 39%