Well, not that you'll hear too much about it, but the AP came out w/a poll of likely voters [6] yesterday that has Obama leading by only one point.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The presidential race tightened after the final debate, with John McCain [7] gaining among whites and people earning less than $50,000, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that shows McCain and Barack Obama [8] essentially running even among likely voters in the election homestretch.
The poll, which found Obama at 44 percent and McCain at 43 percent, supports what some Republicans and Democrats privately have said in recent days: that the race narrowed after the third debate as GOP-leaning voters drifted home to their party and McCain's "Joe the plumber" analogy struck a chord.
Three weeks ago, an AP-GfK survey found that Obama had surged to a seven-point lead over McCain, lifted by voters who thought the Democrat was better suited to lead the nation through its sudden economic crisis.
Also yesterday, the Battleground tracking poll [9] has it as a 2 point race, (Obama 49%, McCain 47%).
Yes, there are others that have a larger margin, (the RealClearPolitics average [10] is a little above 6 points), but it underscores the point that the race is still volitile and far from over. That it is tightening, as races tend to do in the closing weeks and, perhaps, that McCain's message is starting to resonate, or that the undecideds are finally taking a closer look at "the One"...and having second thoughts.
I think the fact that McCain's still contesting states like Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, (thought to be out of his reach) attest to the fact that the internal numbers show he's still got a shot. In fact, reports indicate that Barry's folks know this to be true as well [11].
