CNN Poll: Obama won the night

CNN) — A national poll of debate watchers suggests that Barack Obama won the second presidential debate.

Fifty-four percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released 30 minutes after the end of the debate say that Obama did the best job Tuesday night, with 30 percent saying McCain performed better.

According to the poll, 64 percent had a favorable opinion of Obama after the debate, an an increase of four points from his pre-debate showing. McCain’s approval rating remains unchanged: 51 percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of McCain after the debate.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted by telephone with 675 adult Americans who watched the debate. All interviews were taken after the end of the debate. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.