Poll Tracker

The Democratic convention has bounced Barack Obama to an 8 point lead over John McCain in Gallup's daily tracking poll conducted Aug. 26-28. Obama leads McCain 49 percent to 41 percent with 1 percent preferring "other," 4 percent "neither," and 5 percent having "no opinion." The margin of error is 2 percent. Obama's largest lead in the tracking poll at any point since he clinched the nomination had been 9 points in late July. Going into the convention, he was polling 45 percent and was essentially tied with McCain. How long the predictable bounce will last is subject to some different factors this year: the combination of today's announcement of John McCain's running mate on the heels of the Democratic Convention and the fact that the GOP convention starts so soon after the Democrats.