Over 50 in Florida?

Some pretty striking numbers from a new Quinnipiac swing state poll, which shows Obama pulling away in Florida (51-43), Ohio (50-42) and Pennsylvania (54-39). Quinnipiac already had Obama leading in these states before last Friday’s presidential debate, and gave Obama wider leads in Florida and Ohio than other polling outfits.

What’s driving Obama’s rise? Quinnipiac cites a number of factors, including a drop in McCain’s favorability ratings and a positive reaction to Obama’s handling of the economic crisis. In Florida, Obama gets a net +33 percent rating for his role in responding to the economic crisis, compared to +14 for McCain. In Ohio those numbers are +27 for Obama and +10 for McCain. And in Pennsylvania, voters approve of Obama’s response to the tune of +36, compared to just +4 for McCain.

-- Alexander Burns