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                      ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP CONGRESS


                     SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2008


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All polls between now and mid October mean NOTHING!


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>                       ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP CONGRESS
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>                      SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2008
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> Obama leads McCain by 2 points: Reuters poll
> Wed Sep 17, 2008 9:55am EDT 
> By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama has a 2-point lead in the 
> U.S. presidential race on Republican John McCain, whose choice of 
> Sarah Palin as his running mate helped shore up support for both 
> candidates, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.
> Obama leads McCain among likely voters by 47 percent to 45 percent, 
> within the poll's 3.1 percent margin of error. He gained ground in the 
> last month among independent and women voters and on the question of 
> who could best manage the faltering U.S. economy.
> Obama wiped out McCain's 5-point edge in a Reuters/Zogby poll taken in 
> August before the nominating conventions, a sign the Arizona senator 
> could be drifting back to earth from what other opinion polls showed 
> was a post-convention surge.
> "We're back to where we always thought we would be -- in a very 
> competitive race," pollster John Zogby said.
> The poll, taken Thursday through Saturday, follows a hectic month in 
> the race to the November 4 election as both parties held their 
> nominating conventions and both candidates selected their vice 
> presidential running mates.
> McCain's choice of Sarah Palin, an anti-abortion and pro-gun 
> first-term governor from Alaska, as his No. 2 set off a political 
> firestorm that helped stoke conservative enthusiasm for the Republican 
> ticket.
> But Zogby said Palin also helped solidify Democratic support for 
> Obama. "For the last few weeks it's been all about Palin and she has 
> been a divisive force," he said. "She has shored up the base for both 
> candidates."
> Obama, who struggled to solidify Democrats in August when just 74 
> percent backed him, now has the support of 89 percent of Democrats. 
> McCain's support among Republicans grew from 81 percent last month to 
> 89 percent.
> Nearly one-third of likely voters said the choice of Palin made them 
> more likely to support McCain and nearly one-quarter said it made them 
> less likely. About 43 percent said it would have no effect.
> Obama's selection of Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate 
> Foreign Relations Committee, as his No. 2 had less impact. About 23 
> percent said they were more likely to vote for Obama with Biden on the 
> ticket and 16 percent said they were less likely.
> MCCAIN STILL LEADS ON ECONOMY
> Half of all voters said the economy was the top issue, and the poll 
> showed McCain narrowly led Obama on the question of which candidate 
> could best manage the economy by 47 percent to 45 percent.
> But that was a significant gain for Obama from McCain's 9-point 
> advantage last month. The poll was taken before Sunday's upheaval on 
> Wall Street with the fall of Lehman Brothers Holding and the sale of 
> Merrill Lynch.
> Obama has tried to refocus the campaign on his proposals for the 
> economy after a Republican convention where he was heavily criticized 
> as a liberal elitist unfamiliar with the struggles of working families.
> The Illinois senator wiped out McCain's 5-point August lead among 
> independents and expanded his edge over McCain among women, two 
> crucial swing voting blocs in November.
> Obama now has a statistically insignificant 1-point edge over McCain 
> among independents and has a 7-point lead among women, up from a 
> 2-point advantage last month.
> He also gained ground among Catholics and older voters, but lost 
> support to McCain among suburban voters and small-town residents. 
> Palin has made her background as the mayor of Wasilla, a town of about 
> 9,000 residents, a key component of her political biography.
> The poll found McCain and Obama were in an absolute dead heat at 45 
> percent when independent candidate Ralph Nader and Libertarian Party 
> candidate Bob Barr were added to the mix. Nader earned 2 percent and 
> Barr 1 percent of the vote.
> The telephone poll of 1,008 likely voters had a margin of error of 3.1 
> percentage points.
> The poll was taken as McCain and Obama head into three potentially 
> crucial debates beginning on September 26 in Oxford, Mississippi. 
> Palin and Biden will hold one debate on October 2 in St. Louis.
> (Editing by Patricia Wilson and David Wiessler)
> © Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved.
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