Posted Sunday, August 31 2008 at 19:23
"Barack Obama jumped to his biggest lead since late July in public opinion polls, after his speech to more than 75,000 people in a Denver football stadium when he accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.


Obama the man to fulfil Luther King Jr's dream

Republican John McCain showed off his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in this city, yesterday as Mr Obama's campaign aired a new TV ad urging voters not be distracted by McCain putting a woman on the GOP ticket.

At the same time, their campaign unveiled a 30-second national TV ad that says Mr McCain's selection of Ms Palin should not obscure the fact that Mr McCain candidacy represents a continuation of President Bush 's policies.

"So, while this may be his running mate," an announcer says with a photo of Palin on the screen, "America knows this is McCain's agenda." The visual then switches to a shot of McCain and Bush. "We can't afford four more years of the same."

Mr Obama himself offered a non-committal assessment of Palin during a television interview.

Speaking during a taping of CBS' "60 Minutes," Mr Obama said Ms Palin "Obviously, she's a fine mother and an up and coming public servant" but added "It's too early for me to gauge what kind of running mate she'll be. My sense is that she subscribes to John McCain's agenda."

Meanwhile, how long Mr Obama holds the lead in polls is open to question, as voters react to Mr McCain's surprise selection of Mr Palin for his running mate and Republicans begin their nominating convention tomorrow in St Paul, Minnesota.

Mr Obama leads McCain 49-41 per cent in the most recent Gallup Poll daily tracking survey, which measured voter sentiment during a three-day period ending on August 28."