ABC led with the results from its own opinion poll, conducted with Washington Post, into the so-called bounce coming out of the national conventions. The upshot of the two gatherings has been that Barack Obama and John McCain are practically even in the national standings: McCain ahead 49%-47% among likely voters; Obama ahead 47%-46% among registered voters. George Stephanopoulos emphasized the demographic and geographic shifts inside the numbers. The biggest swings in favor of McCain since July have been among white women and in the Midwestern states of Missouri, Michigan and Ohio. McCain's aides believe that running mate Sarah Palin accounts for both.
NBC offered a hat tip to ABC's poll numbers as Lee Cowan, covering the Obama campaign in Michigan, quoted them: "Essentially this is a dead heat." Kelly O'Donnell, covering McCain, echoed his aides' enthusiasm for Palin and her appeal among white women voters. O'Donnell pointed to "a new phenomenon" for the McCain campaign--overflow crowds. "She has been staying with him longer than first expected instead of spinning off to campaign on her own."
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