It looks like Barack Obama may have gotten his convention bounce after all:
A large number of national polls
have come out within the past 24-48 hours, most of which had conducted
a survey close enough to the beginning of the Democratic convention to
provide for a direct comparison. These polls show Obama having gained
between 2 and 8 points since before the convention began, or an average
of 4.4 points. Although this is slightly below the average convention bounce of 6 points,
it is a pretty reasonable result considering that the Republicans had
named their VP candidate immediately following the Democratic
convention, a circumstance which had never occurred before. Moreover,
the internals of these polls show Obama gaining ground among Clinton supporters, a group of votes that John McCain is likely to have a difficult time getting back.
Still, it is imperative
for Democrats not to get too giddy. A bounce is usually just a bounce,
and the Republicans will have three nights of rebuttal tonight through
Thursday to attempt to generate some momentum of their own. The
Republicans rallied the base with the selection of Sarah Palin; having
done so, they need to find messaging during their convention that will
appeal to moderates and independents.
--Nate Silver