Polls Show McCain Got Some Convention Bounce, but Bad Economic Numbers Could Hurt Him

We now have today's numbers from those two daily presidential tracking polls I cite so often. They are pasted in below.

They should show the beginning of the GOP's widely expected convention bounce. Surprisingly, a new CBS poll shows John McCain enjoying an even bigger convention bounce, having completely wiped out an 8-point lead Barack Obama had a week ago.

Now the question is, what will today's weak economic numbers (with unemployment at its highest rate in five years) to do McCain's bounce?

Voters most often blame economic woes on the party in power in the White House. Even though McCain is campaigning against Washington and for change, he's still a member of the entrenched political establishment and is much more closely associated with President Bush than is Obama.

"Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Tuesday through Thursday finds Barack Obama with a four-percentage-point lead over John McCain in the presidential preferences of registered voters, 48 percent to 44 percent. While the difference between today's result and Thursday's 49 percent to 42 percent lead for Obama is not statistically significant, some of the broader shifts seen over the past 10 days, spanning both parties' national conventions, have been meaningful."

"The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows the beginning of John McCain's convention bounce and the race is essentially back where it was before Barack Obama's bounce. Obama now attracts 46 percent of the vote while McCain earns 45 percent. When 'leaners' are included, it's Obama 48 percent, McCain 46 percent."

"The presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain is now even at 42 percent, according to a new CBS News poll conducted Monday-Wednesday of this week. Twelve percent are undecided, according to the poll, and one percent said they wouldn't vote. This is in contrast to a poll conducted last weekend, where the Obama-Biden ticket led McCain-Palin by eight points, 48 percent to 40 percent. McCain has also closed the enthusiasm gap some with Obama, but it still exists. Fifty-five percent of Obama's supporters are enthusiastic about their choice, and now so are 35 percent of McCain's. Last weekend, just 25 percent of McCain's supporters were enthusiastic about him, compared to 67 of Obama's supporters."