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15 days out, Obama reverses slide; Palin a drag on McCain

By Jay Bookman | Monday, October 20, 2008, 07:54 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

As expected, Barack Obama has halted and even reversed John McCain's rise in the wake of their performances in the third and final debate, according to at least two tracking polls.

In the latest Gallup three-day tracking numbers released Sunday, Obama's lead is back up to 10 points. It had fallen to six points before the poll began to reflect reaction to the debate.

Obama has also doubled his lead in the latest Zogby tracking poll released this morning, with the Illinois senator reaching 49.8 percent. That's Obama's highest support level in the poll's 14 days of surveying.

"This three-day rolling average of telephone polling now includes a sample taken entirely after the final presidential debate last Wednesday," Zogby notes.

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll suggests that the McCain campaign may be preaching to its own choir, pleasing the already converted but not the independents they need to win Nov. 4.

"Overall, 52 percent of likely voters said they are less confident in McCain's judgment because of his surprise selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin; 38 percent are more confident because of it. That is a stark reversal from the initial, positive public reaction to the pick," the Post reports.

"Just after the GOP convention, 52 percent of independents, and 64 percent of independent women said the Palin pick made them more confident in how McCain would make presidential decisions - those numbers have now dipped to 39 and 37 percent, respectively."

Voters who say they may still be persuadable are "among the least apt to see the new GOP focus on 1960s radical William Ayers and the community group ACORN as legitimate campaign issues."

"Nearly seven in 10 movable voters said Obama's past relationship with Ayers is not a legitimate issue; likewise, a narrow majority see the Obama campaign's association with ACORN as not germane," the poll found.

The party base will no doubt complain that Palin's numbers have been driven down by a hostile media. On the other hand, the rest of America thinks the party base should open their damn eyes and ears and listen to what that woman actually says.