Poll Tracker

Barack Obama did better than the 2000 and 2004 presidential candidates with his acceptance speech, with 58 percent of Americans giving it positive marks and, among them, 35 percent calling it "excellent," according to a Gallup survey conducted Aug. 29, the night after the speech.

While 62 percent of Democrats called it excellent in addition to another 21 percent who labeled it good, only 12 percent of Republicans said it was excellent and 25 percent said it was good. Fifty-two percent of independents called it excellent or good.