Paul Steinhauser of CNN reports:
The first national poll conducted after Barack Obama publicly named Joe Biden as his running mate suggests that the battle for the presidency between the Illinois senator and John McCain is all tied up.
It’s 47% – 47%. CNN Polling Director Keating Holland notes that it appears to be a step back for Obama, who lead 51-44 last month. Why?
Sixty-six percent of Clinton supporters — registered Democrats who want Clinton as the nominee — are now backing Obama. That’s down from 75 percent in the end of June. Twenty-seven percent of them now say they’ll support McCain, up from 16 percent in late June.
“The number of Clinton Democrats who say they would vote for McCain has gone up 11 points since June, enough to account for most, although not all, of the support McCain has gained in that time,” Holland said.
Perhaps that would explain McCain’s recent “Passed Over” ad and his campaign allegedly spreading the rumor that Obama’s “3 AM text message” was a direct dig at Clinton. Both are clearly intended to reach disaffected Clinton supporters through inciting anger toward Obama. (IMHO – A silly rumor to spread: Why would it be in Obama’s interest to take a dig at Clinton? Too much of this sort of thing could backfire on McCain.)