SOUTH BEND — As Republicans begin airing ads in Indiana an exclusive WSBT / South Bend Tribune poll shows the race for president is as tight as ever.

Democrat Barack Obama has spent millions in television advertising in the state. Our poll shows that may be paying off. The poll of 600 likely voters was conducted Monday and Tuesday, the same days that news coverage was filled with stories about the financial bailout.

It shows one percentage point is all that separates John McCain from Barack Obama, well within the survey's margin of error. McCain has the lead among men — getting more than half of them. Obama gets almost half of the women.

But there's one issue that's top for everyone.

"Indiana has a high unemployment rate right now so they'll focus on issues like jobs and taxes rather than the bailout," said Elizabeth Bennion, IU South Bend political scientist.

Our poll shows the economy, energy costs and taxes are the top concerns for Hoosiers. Both campaigns think that will help them.

"They're asking who do I believe is actually going to protect my pocketbook, a maverick who has done this in Washington or a guy who has a liberal tax and spend record," said Jackie Walorski of the McCain campaign.

"It's been an issue for a period of time, but it really has risen up in the intensity that people are paying attention to that. I think people are looking for change," said Steve Luecke of the Obama campaign.

Obama's advertising in the state has tried to tie McCain to President Bush. Our poll shows 65 percent of all voters think the two are similar or very similar. The number jumps to 70 percent for the crucial independent voters.

"With the president's approval rating where he can't get 1 in 3 voters to say they approve of the job he's doing, this would be a concern to the McCain campaign," Bennion said.

And while the poll shows more than three quarters of those surveyed would vote for a black president, Bennion says there's reason for the Obama camp to be concerned.

"You have 14 percent of people who aren't sure if they'll vote for an African American. In a tight race, that could be decisive and make the difference," Bennion said.

Both campaigns say they'll be making a big push in October to mobilize voters.

Pollster Del Ali told me he thinks McCain may have taken a bit of a hit in this poll because of his decision to suspend his campaign to work on the failed bailout bill in the House.

Ali says we need to watch what McCain does toward the middle of October. If he makes appearances here, that tends to indicate the campaign's internal numbers are not looking good, but the campaign believes he'll be focusing on closer races in other states where the delegate numbers are higher.

While McCain has a very slight lead in Indiana, that's not the case across the country. A new CBS poll released Wednesday night shows Obama with a nine point lead.

Fifty percent of likely voters support him; 41 percent support McCain. six percent were undecided. The poll has a three point margin of error.