Convention Didn't Win Points for Obama: Poll

The Democratic National Convention and Barack Obama’s acceptance speech failed to boost his ratings despite their favorable reception, reports CNN. Obama and John McCain were in a dead heat a week ago, and remain virtually tied, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey. McCain’s well-timed announcement of Sarah Palin as his running mate—which was also favorably received—may have canceled out Obama’s bounce, said a pollster.

The poll suggests that Obama’s speech did influence those who watched it, swaying 51% of voters toward the Democrat and 31% away. Results also indicate that 75% of voters believe McCain is trying to woo women with the Palin pick—but he’s yet to see those gains. “The Palin selection did not help among women, but it did appeal to Republican loyalists," said an analyst. (More Barack Obama stories.)