As Final Debate Looms, Obama Surges

As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton prepare to face each other in their final debate before the Texas and Ohio primaries, new polls out today show Obama pulling ahead for the first time in the national race among Democrats.

Obama led Clinton by 54 percent to 38 percent nationally in the Times/CBS poll and by 51 percent to 39 percent in the USA Today/Gallup Poll released Monday.  Democrats also believed that Obama was more electable, more likely to defeat John McCain in the fall, and more likely to unite the country if elected.

Polls in Ohio and Texas showed the race tightening in those two make-or-break states for Clinton, and at least one poll (by CNN) showed Obama pulling slightly ahead of Clinton in Texas for a statistical dead heat.

The two candidates will meet tonight for a debate in Cleveland, Ohio, televised live by MSNBC.