Barack Obama Finally Gets Convention Bounce, Six Point Lead Over McCain Now
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 28, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — It took some time for the phenomenon to get started, but pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama finally got his historical convention bounce. Now, a new Gallup poll, on the day he is slated to make his acceptance speech, shows him leading John McCain by six percent.
After McCain pulled ahead before the convention by two percent on the strength of support from pro-life Democrats, Obama now lead the Arizona senator 48-42 percent.
Obama gained just one point after what political observers say was a lackluster first day of the Democratic convention. But as more speakers extolled his virtues and heaped criticism on McCain, Obama rose three points yesterday.
The latest three-day Gallup Poll Daily tracking average is directly coincident with the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
As Gallup notes, the poll "is no doubt beginning to reflect the typical convention ‘bounce’ that Gallup has observed in most party conventions in recent decades."
Because the polling is done during the day, the bounce is expected to continue as the poll doesn’t reflect on speeches from John Kerry, former President Bill Clinton, and vice presidential nominee Joe Biden nor Obama’s own speech set for tonight.
"Thus, there is already a six percentage point bounce evident in the data, although the final ‘official’ post-convention bounce used in comparison with other recent conventions will not be tabulated by Gallup until interviewing for Friday through Sunday is completed and reported next Monday," Gallup says.
By Monday, McCain will know how much ground he has to make up during the Republican convention.
He hopes to make up some of the bounce by naming a vice-presidential candidate as early as today in order to take some of the high-profile news coverage away from Obama.
Leading candidates for the running mate slot include Minnesota Gov. Tom Pawlenty, who is strongly pro-life, and former Gov. Mitt Romney, who converted to the pro-life cause a few years ago.
Another poll confirms Obama’s bounce as Rasmussen Reports indicates Obama now has a two percent lead — gaining a point on Thursday to have a 45 to 44 percent advantage. When "leaners" are included, the race is tied at 47 percent apiece.
However, the Rasmussen poll, unlike Gallup’s, does not include the second night of the convention (where Hilary Clinton spoke) and some of the poll comes before the convention began.
Rasmussen indicated Obama lost ground with his selection of pro-abortion running mate Joe Biden but its daily polling shows him gaining some of that back and predicting he will have a "modest" lead after his speech tonight.
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