We see the first effects of McCain/Palin replacing Bush/Cheney in Monday's USA Today/Gallup Poll, in which 48 percent say they're Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party; 47 percent say they're Republicans or lean to the GOP. That merely 1-point party gap -- the strongest position for Republicans since Bush's second inaugural, at the beginning of 2005 -- had been in double digits only a few weeks ago. Moreover, voters -- by only 48-45 percent -- support the Democratic candidate in their congressional districts, the Democratic Party's narrowest advantage this year.
These numbers also come from the recent Gallup poll. So you can look at it two ways: 1) Gallup has accurately captured the recent enthusiasm for the GOP; or 2) the Gallup poll randomly oversampled Pubbies, thereby resulting in the 10-point lead for McCain/Palin.
This is great news for McCain /Palin. I think Gallup just tapped into the rise in Republican enthusiasm earlier than other pollsters. We now have polls showing McCain/Palin have benefitted from a 20+% swing among white females. They lead among independents and men and now GOP self ID is rising. Great news I'd say.
McCain has found his stride and this time I don't think he's going to let anyone get in his way.