Convention Bounce Small, Fading Fast

Barack Obama enjoyed a noticeable, but below-average, bounce in opinion polls after last week’s Democratic National Convention, Politico reports—but the gains appear to be already diminishing. Obama has risen 4% in Gallup’s daily tracking poll, 3% in a CBS survey—smaller than the average 5-6% convention bounce. And while Gallup had Obama 8% ahead of John McCain on Saturday, his margin was 5% yesterday.

Any sustained bounce is probably a victory, Politico adds, given how swiftly Sarah Palin and Hurricane Gustav drove the Denver coronation from the front pages. With the party conventions back-to-back for the first time since 1956, McCain now has his best chance to ride the Republican gathering in St. Paul, Minn., into a rare lead in the race. (More Barack Obama stories.)