I know, it's a poll diary. Still, the Gallup and Rasmussen Trackers today are interesting...and not in a good way.
Gallup Tracker (Aug 24-26) McCain 46 Obama 44
Rasmussen Tracker (Aug 23-26) McCain 46 Obama 46
Worth noting that the McCain lead in the Gallup Tracker is the first lead at any point past Obama's clinch of the nomination in early June.
Analysis after the jump.
I think it's pretty obvious...Hillary supporters who are annoyed that Obama didn't pick Hillary for VP are dragging down Obama's numbers. Pretty simple analysis there.
Will it last? I doubt it. In fact, the convention is likely to turn these numbers around pretty quickly (Rasmussen will probably be lower tomorrow because it's a 4-day track) over the rest of this week.
It appears to be a blessing in disguise to announce the VP right before the convention...if it wasn't going to be Hillary.
Will this alter the convention week storyline? It probably plays into the "Hillary's people are dissatisfied" meme, so we'll see how well (or not) she punctures that balloon tonight.
Overall: disappointing, but not disasterous. Biden is a long term pick...for November and beyond.
Links:
Rasmussen:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/...
Gallup:
http://www.gallup.com/...