Remember all the talk during the Democratic primary campaign about how Senator Barack Obama could never match Senator Hillary Clinton’s appeal among blue-collar and lower-wage workers? Well, with the primary season past, times appear to have changed. Today’s unusual poll in The Washington Post shows Obama leading presumptive Republican nominee Senator John McCain by a margin of slightly better than 2 to 1 among Americans making no more than $27,000 a year. Among registered voters in that category who lean toward a candidate, the Post reports, 58 percent chose Obama, versus 28 percent for McCain.

The poll, conducted among 1,350 randomly selected voters, has an interesting religious dimension, too. If you go to the actual data–available in pdf form at www.washingtonpost.com— you will find that this group identifies itself as solidly religious. Asked what role faith plays in helping them get through hard times, nearly four in five said it played a “very important” role (57 percent) or a “somewhat important role” (21 percent).

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