Obama fights perception he is elitist

By Caren Bohan

FORT WAYNE, Indiana (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama sought to convince Americans he is not elitist on Thursday as new polls showed his aura of inevitability has declined after weeks of negative headlines.

In an interview on NBC's "Today Show," Obama said both his rivals, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain, come from more privileged backgrounds than he did.

"The irony is, I think it is fair to say that both Michelle and I grew up in much less privileged circumstances than either of my two potential opponents," said Obama.

A flap over racially charged rhetoric from his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and Obama's comments that small-town Americans "cling" to guns and religion, appears to have taken a toll on the Illinois senator as he fights for the right to face McCain in the November election.

A New York Times/CBS News poll found that 51 percent of Democratic primary voters say they expect Obama to win their party's nomination battle against New York Sen. Clinton, down from 69 percent a month ago.

The poll said 48 percent of Democrats say he is the candidate with the best chance of defeating Arizona Sen. McCain, down from 56 percent a month ago.

Similarly, a Pew Research Center poll found a tighter national race between Obama and Clinton, with him holding a 47 percent to 45 percent lead over Clinton, down from 10 points a month ago.

"The tightening Democratic race reflects a modest but consistent decline in Obama's personal image rather than improved impressions of Clinton," the poll said.  Continued...