The NY Times thinks the momentum has shifted back to Obama:

Polls taken after the Republican convention suggested that Mr. McCain had enjoyed a surge of support — particularly among white women after his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate — but the latest poll indicates “the Palin effect” was, at least so far, a limited burst of interest… the Times/CBS News poll suggested that Ms. Palin’s selection has, to date, helped Mr. McCain only among Republican base voters; there was no evidence of significantly increased support for him among female voters in general. White women are evenly divided between Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama; before the conventions, Mr. McCain led Mr. Obama among white women by a margin of 44 percent to 37 percent.

Here’s the overview:

The main reason for the shift, of course, is the economy, which has brought us back from discussing the kinds of makeup worn by pigs to actual issues. Yhis from Politico:

So far this week, the prominence of economic issues on the campaign trail has appeared to work to the benefit of Obama and Biden. Their tracking poll numbers have ticked up – on Wednesday Gallup showed Obama with his first lead since the Republican convention- as the two Democrats have aggressively attacked McCain’s support for economic policies they say helped precipitate the current economic turbulence.

The continued drop in the stock market won’t make it any better for the McCain campaign, given his history as a deregulator who, with his buddies Gramm and Greenspan, set up the venue for Wall St.’s fall. Here’s where the Dow ended yesterday:

47 Days to go and the fight is getting intense!

Under The LobsterScope