National Polls Show John McCain Closing Gap on Barack Obama

As we enter the final week before the 2008 Presidential Election, it seems that the media coverage is only getting more intense, and even the smallest story lines are blown up to become major news events. Today's example of that is a small, but not insignificant, gain in the national polls for John McCain as he attempts to chase down front-running Barack Obama.

And while this is heartening news for the McCain camp, it is a glimpse of the national polling numbers, not necessarily the individual "battleground" states where Obama seems to hold a firm lead and the inside track on the electoral votes that ultimately will decide the winner. But the change in the polls is real and it represents the tightening that often comes as we enter the home stretch of a presidential election year.

In much the same fashion as the "super delegates" were really the key players in a closely contested Democratic Primary, this year's Presidential election will come down to a handful of states whose outcome is as-yet-undetermined. We won't know a definitive result on the election until late Tuesday evening, or perhaps even later if some of the battleground states become too close to call.

There are lingering doubts in many areas as to the validity of the polls being employed in this election. Is there a silent block of McCain voters out there who have been untapped by pollsters? Is the media frenzy surrounding Barack Obama leading to unrealistic exuberance among still-undecided voters? What impact will race have on voters' decisions? These are all real questions that we won't have answered until after November 4th.