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.

Highly Partisan Reception Greets Palin as V.P. Pick  —  Half Say Palin Doesn't Have Experience to Be President  —  Sarah Palin is receiving a highly partisan reception on the national political stage, with significant public doubts about her readiness to serve as president …

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.

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.

Media on the defensive over Sarah Palin coverage  —  After the GOP attacks the media over stories about the vice presidential nominee's family, TV networks and newspapers deny bias and say Republicans opened the door to coverage.  —  NEW YORK — News executives Thursday tried to shake off …