Gallup Daily: Obama's Lead Now at 4 Points  —  Obama's position about halfway between his recent highs and lows  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Tuesday through Thursday finds Barack Obama with a four-percentage-point lead over John McCain in the presidential preferences of registered voters, 48% to 44%.

McCain TV Ratings Beat Obama in Preliminary Numbers  —  Presidential candidate John McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention drew more television viewers than his rival Barack Obama attracted at the Democratic party's event last week, according to preliminary ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

Guess which card Obama pulled out of the deck today?  —  With both Rasmussen and Gallup showing Barack Obama moving backwards even before the Republican Convention dropped its balloons on Andrea Mitchell, one can excuse the Democratic nominee for hearing footsteps.  How desperate has he gotten?

Obama Suddenly Riled  —  Sen. Barack Obama ditched his normal languid cool today, punching back at Gov. Sarah Palin as he spoke with reporters in York, Pa, hotly defending his work as a community organizer.  He said he assumes Palin “wants to be treated same way guys want to be treated, which means their records are under scrutinty.

BIG DILEMMA: OPRAH BALKS AT HOSTING SARAH PALIN; STAFF DIVIDED  —  Oprah Winfrey may have introduced Democrat Barack Obama to the women of America — but the talkshow queen is not rushing to embrace the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket!  —  Oprah's staff is sharply divided …

Oprah to Palin: I Can Pencil You In Later  —  Oprah has issued a statement to TMZ — she won't put Sarah Palin on her show until after the election.  —  Here's the statement: “The item in today's Drudge Report is categorically untrue.  There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show.