Still "squeaky bum time"

A CNN poll taken after the end of the Republican convention shows Obama and McCain "deadlocked". Other polls show either a mild or substantial convention "bounce" for McCain, as expected. USA Today/Gallup showed McCain 10 points ahead, Zogby shows him 4 points ahead. Votemaster notes: "The Rasmussen tracking poll makes it a tie at 46% each. The Gallup tracking poll puts McCain ahead 48% to 45%."

So it's still close, of course. The new few state polls will be interesting. One done by Public Policy Polling on the 6th and 7th September in Michigan shows McCain closing Obama's lead to one point, with key gains amongst male white voters for McCain, plus a favourable reception for Sarah Palin compared to Biden. (It took quite a bit of willpower for me to write that). Caution: I can't find a previous PPP poll in Michigan, in this campaign, to compare with this one. So, we'll have to wait until one of the pollsters, who have already polled Michigan in this campaign, to publish a new poll, in order to make a more sober judgment on this one.