Obama-Biden 48% : McCain-Palin 40% (last poll conducted preconvention showed Obama up 45% - 42%). Clearly these numbers could change after the Republican convention, but still I thought I'd share the news.
The new poll was released at 4pm eastern time.
Breakdown of Internals:
Amongst Men: Obama 44, McCain 44
Amongst Women: Obama 50, McCain 36
Amongst Republicans: Obama 10, McCain 81
Amongst Democrats: Obama 82, McCain 10 (Obama firming up his base?)
The Big One (Obama regains lead amongst independents)
Amongst Independents: Obama 43, McCain 37
Quick Mention:
Obama & McCain are tied at 43% amongst white women; McCain leads Obama 51 - 35 amongst white men, so some work still needs to be done here to tighten that GAP a bit, although it's a given that Dems generally do not win White men.
Update: Obama breaks 50% in USA Today Poll. More on this at the end of the diary.
Notes from new CBS poll:
A lot of Americans watched Barack's convention speech. John McCain's speech WILL NOT attract this many viewers:
Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s lead over Republican John McCain has grown after Obama’s convention – one that 71% of Americans (and even 63% of Republicans) claim they watched.
Obama regains lead amongst Independents, grows his lead amongst women (we're yet to see the full effect of the Palin pick, but I don't think Palin will yield a net positive for McCain), and has consolidated his Democratic base:
Obama wins the support of independent voters in this poll; before the convention, McCain had a 12 point advantage with this group. Obama’s lead among women has also grown, to 14 points from 8 points before the convention. And Obama maintained the lead he had before the convention among those voters who supported Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. Support from each candidate’s partisan identifiers remains unchanged; 82% of Democrats favor Obama, 81% of Republicans favor McCain.
What the convention accomplished - "He Gets It":
Obama has now established a difference between himself and McCain when it comes to "getting it," and he has increased perceptions that he is tough. 63% of registered voters say Obama understands their needs and problems, while just 41% say that about McCain.
Apparently, Obama is now Rambo:
And post convention, more voters now say that Obama is "tough enough," something 58% say now, up from 48% in early August.
Areas that Barack still needs to work on (good debate performances should help with these):
IS OBAMA PREPARED FOR JOB OF PRESIDENT?
But there are still areas where Obama needs to improve. There has been no change in the percentage (44%) of registered voters who say Obama has prepared himself well enough for the job, something McCain has held a large advantage on. But fewer now say Obama is not prepared for the job of President than before the convention.
WOULD HE BE EFFECTIVE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF?
Obama has also made no dent in the higher number thinking McCain would be "very likely" be an effective Commander in Chief. 45% say that about McCain now, as many as said that before the convention. Just 29% say that about Obama. Still, that represents some improvement -- just 21% said that about Obama before the convention.
There are tons more interesting nuggets in the poll. Please check them out here.
UPDATE:
Nuggets from the New USA Today Poll:
Obama Breaks 50%
In the head-to-head race between the candidates, Obama now leads 50%-43% among registered voters.
Obama has neutralized McCains advantage on Iraq:
On handling issues, Obama and McCain are rated equally in handling the situation in Iraq — 47% prefer Obama, 46% McCain — while McCain has a nine-point advantage in handling terrorism. That's significantly narrower margin than before the convention, when McCain had a 22-point lead. Obama has a 19-point lead in managing the economy
Enthusiasm Gap favors Obama:
In the poll, Democrats continue to benefit from a "enthusiasm gap." By 57%-28%, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting this year. By 47%-39%, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are less enthusiastic than usual.