NEW YORK: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has pulled away from his rival Senator Hilary Clinton by almost 20 points nationwide, a Newsweek poll revealed on Saturday. The survey of 1,209 registered voters conducted days before the critical Pennsylvania primary found that Obama now leads Clinton by nearly 20 points, or 54 percent to 35 per cent, the magazine said.

In March after Clinton’s big primary wins in Ohio and Texas, showed the two Democrats locked in a statistical tie (45 per cent for Obama to 44 per cent for Clinton). The new poll puts Obama ahead among women as well as men, and voters aged 60 and older as well as younger voters.

One of the more devastating results for Clinton was that a majority of all registered voters now see her as dishonest and untrustworthy.

According to the poll, just four in 10 (41 per cent) registered voters view the New York senator as honest and trustworthy, while 51 per cent think the opposite. This compares with solid majorities of voters who see Obama and McCain as honest and trustworthy (both polled 61 per cent), Newsweek said.

The results suggest that Clinton was damaged more by being caught in a tall tale about landing in Bosnia under sniper fire than Obama has been by his recent controversies, including the firestorm of criticism provoked by the Illinois senator’s remarks that blue-collar voters “cling” to religion, guns and other issues because of their bitterness.

In addition, over half (53 per cent) of voters say they believe Obama shares their values, more than those who say the same thing about Clinton (47 per cent) or McCain (45 per cent).