These are two different reports of the presidential polls, from two different countries, on the same day, October 23, 2008.
Irish Times, Oct 23, 2008
Today, Obama attracts 51 per cent support in the Rasmussen tracking poll, and he has now enjoyed a lead, modest or otherwise, every day for the last month. For the past 11 days Senator Obama has been over 51 per cent in the polls.
During those 11 days, McCain has been at 45 per cent or 46 per cent every day and the gap between the candidates has remained between four and six points, the polling organization said yesterday.
Associated Press, Oct 23, 2008
The presidential race tightened after the final debate, with John McCain gaining among whites and people earning less than $50,000, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that shows McCain and Barack Obama 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.
Here is a link to the USA Today poll tracker, which monitors nationwide polls. Senator Barack Obama is up by at least five points in every one of their recent national polls. On October 22, Obama was ahead by four points, yet the AP reported that Senator Obama only lead Senator McCain by one point. Also, why is the AP bringing up Joe The Plumber? It almost seems like a free ad for the McCain campaign, especially since they report that the talking-point is working when it is has been discovered that Joe is an unlicensed plumber. So why did the AP report that the race is 46 to 45 Obama? What is going on here?