LATEST POLL
OBAMA TRAILS MCCAIN SINCE CHOOSING BIDEN FOR NO. 2
By CARL CAMPANILE in Phoenix, GEOFF EARLE in Kansas City, Mo., and LEONARD GREENE in Denver


VEEP & WEEP: Joe Biden, getting emotional thanking his Delawaredelegation yesterday in Colorado, has another reason to shed tears - the Gallup Poll has the Democrats behind, even after all the publicity surrounding the ticket.

August 27, 2008

Barack Obama got exactly zero bounce from his new running mate, Joe Biden, according to a surprising new poll released yesterday - three days after the selection.

In fact, John McCain leads in the Gallup Poll, 46 to 44 percent - the Republican candidate's best showing in almost three months.

Although McCain's lead still falls within the poll's margin of error, the numbers are a worry for Obama supporters who were counting on Biden's selection as running mate - and the Democratic convention this week - to give them momentum.

"We've been waiting to see if there is a bounce for Barack Obama, and we have not seen it yet," Gallup Poll editor Frank Newport said. "It may take a few days for the convention effect to percolate through to the American public."

McCain wasted no time trying to capitalize on his narrow lead by blasting Obama on foreign policy. The Republican senator criticized Obama for equating the US "liberation" of Iraq from tyrant Saddam Hussein with Russia's invasion of "democratic" Georgia.

Obama had said Russia "can't charge into other countries," but added: "Of course, it helps if we are leading by example on that point."

McCain, appearing before the national convention of veterans of the American Legion in Phoenix, said Obama was clearly referring to America's invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam.

"If he really thinks that, by liberating Iraq from a dangerous tyrant, American somehow set a bad example that invited Russia to invade a small, peaceful and democratic nation, then he should state it outright - because that's a debate I welcome," McCain said to applause.

Obama chided McCain for questioning his "love of country," and called McCain's remarks "detestable."

Though he didn't comment on the new poll, Obama acknowledged the difficulty of his challenge while campaigning at an American Airlines repair facility in Kansas City. "This is gonna be a close election," he allowed. "Republicans are gonna make it out as if I'm a scary guy, I'm gonna tax you to death. You don't know whether I can be trusted."