Erratic Presidential Polls

August 26. 2008

Obama (left) Biden (right)

The Gallup polls monitoring the 2008 U.S. presidential election are erratic. Last week, Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, was lagging behind in the polls. The week before he was tied with Republican presidential nominee, John McCain.

Today, based on the polls, his appointment of a running mate, Joe Biden, and the DNC convention, bizarrely didn't give him an equalizing boost, which is not the norm.

Michelle Obama

According to a Gallup poll released today, the race has now splintered again and Republican presidential nominee, John McCain, is leading once more. The polls currently sit at 46% to 44% in McCain's favor.

McCain still has not announced his choice for a running mate, with various press outlets speculating on when he will do so.

Gallup Daily: No Bounce for Obama in Post-Biden Tracking

Thus, any increase in Obama's support in the coming days would seem to be more the result of the star-studded and well publicized Democratic national convention than the apparently lackluster Biden selection.

The official Gallup records will show that support for Obama declined by two percentage points in Gallup Poll Daily tracking (from 46% to 44%) conducted immediately before and after the Aug. 23 Biden announcement. (Because the announcement was made at 3 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, all Gallup interviewing conducted that day can be considered post announcement.)

http://www.gallup.com