Interesting... Obama won 4% of people in the stadium with his speech...
Not a huge deal, but may be indicative of polls we'll see next week with Palin factored in
The latest poll finds Sen. Barack Obama with an eight-point lead over Sen. John McCain, reflecting a Democratic National Convention that has led to some measure of success.
Of the 2,727 interviews conducted by Gallup, 49 percent supported Obama while 41 percent backed McCain. The two presidential contenders were in a dead-heat at 45 percent each in a previous Gallup poll finished before the convention began.
"Obama's significant lead over McCain almost certainly reflects the effects of the Democratic National Convention," Gallup's Jeff Jones reported.
Shortly after the convention began, Obama had a four-point advantage of 49 percent to 45 percent that widened by another four during this poll. Most of the interviewing was done before Obama's speech to 75,000 people at INVESCO field Thursday night.
The Illinios senator's biggest advantage at any point in his presidential campaign came with a poll conducted July 24-26 that showed a 9-point lead.
The Chicago Tribune suggested that Obama's new lead could be reined in during the media attention that will surround McCain after his recent announcement of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Furthermore, those eight points are the minimum boost that the Obama campaign could have hoped for, The Telegraph reported.
After many highly anticipated, high-profile speeches, the campaign could have hoped for an even wider gap between the candidates.
Democratic strategists said that Obama's speech at Invesco Field garnered positive attention for his aggressiveness in attacking McCain, according to the article.
"A lot of people were surprised not by the delivery and the inspirational side but the fact that he took it right to McCain," said Peter Fenn, veteran campaign adviser. "You are going to see very aggressive campaigning in the coming days. Obama has to show there are clear differences between the two candidates and ask where is McCain's health plan? Where is his change in economic policy and foreign policy?"
After 19 months of campaigning, there are 66 days remaining until election day.
