WASHINGTON -- Large majorities of Americans say they would vote for a woman or a black for president but smaller majorities say the country is ready for that, a poll found.
Ninety-two percent of those surveyed in the latest Newsweek poll said they would vote for a black candidate, but only 59 percent said they think U.S. voters are ready for an African-American in the Oval Office. Eighty-six percent of those polled said they could vote for a woman for president, but just 58 percent said they thought their fellow Americans would accept a female commander-in-chief.
Sixty-six percent of voters polled said there was at least a chance they would vote for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., while 62 percent said there was a chance they would vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.
Head-to-head, however, Clinton out-polled Obama, 56 percent to 33 percent, Newsweek said.
President George W. Bush's approval rating was 26 percent -- unchanged from the most recent previous Newsweek poll.
The poll was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on July 2-3, based on telephone interviews with 1,002 adults, age 18 and older. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent.
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