At the highest rate so far, 53% of Americans rate the economy of poor. Gallup reports, “that it one point higher than we’ve seen on the current economy ever.� From their tracking, Obama has held a 3 point lead over John McCain. Obama’s numbers peaked over McCain last week when the Wall Street collapses began to hit the news and have faltered only slightly.

Now that John McCain has suspended his campaign to deal with the economic bailout plans, he may be able to sway public perception. This could be a game changer. The possibility exists that McCain comes off looking like a Maverick, not a politician playing games. Obama could lose trust if he is seen trying to dance around the issues and not help with the financial crisis. Good campaign move or not, more than half of Americans see our economy as poor. As the candidates strategize and campaign (or in the case of John McCain, show up at work and work on the bailout legislation), know that many pessimistic voters are watching how they handle the situation.

The tracking numbers for the next few days will be very interesting- whether or not there is a debate in Mississippi.

As of right now, less than you would think.

Across the board, we see that the economy as the most important issue. Last night, the federal government, under the direction of Secretary Paulson and at the directive of President Bush, met with lawmakers in an emergency meeting. Today, Secretary Paulson held a press conference to lay out the federal government’s next moves to insert itself in to the economy and inject tax dollars.

For months, the presidential campaigns have focused on the economy. Obama has worked to tie McCain to Bush. McCain has worked against that image. Today, we see the Gallup’s numbers from a survey conducted on Wednesday that shows the political effect of the financial crisis. While 4 in 10 voters do not see the current situation affecting their vote, Obama sees a 7 point advantage among those who would let the current meltdown influence their vote. Regardless of the advantage that Obama holds over McCain, voters do not see a difference in who they believe could handle the Wall Street crisis, with 43% saying Obama would handle it best and 42% responding that McCain would.

This week, both candidates have been on the road explaining why their platform is best for handling the current situation. Both have come across problems, with McCain having to dance around regulation issues and Obama avoiding detailed answers. Both have also attacked each other aggressively, with Obama taking more of an offensive position. Regardless of what the candidates say or do for the next few weeks, they can’t pull the trigger on any of their plans. The Bush administration will proceed as it sees fit and hopefully derail further financial disaster.