PRESS RELEASE: Reuters/Zogby Poll: McCain Makes a Move, Takes 5-Point Lead Over Obama, Zogby International, August 20, 2008

Since I've linked to Zogby in the past regarding Obama's lead (electoral), it's only fitting to note the shift that's occurred in August.

Obama's passivity since the overseas trip has a lot of Dems worried. Zogby is right: McCain is throwing all the punches right now.

Other forces at work?

The bloom had to come off the Obama rose at some point. So in some ways, better to slump in August than October. But the combo of the vacation and Russia/Georgia worked well for McCain. The vote remains a referendum on Obama, and McCain is successfully expanding the "no" pool.

Now that Obamania has been diminished, we're back to the usual Boomer-era dynamic of incredibly close elections. As Ron Brownstein puts it, we are a closely but deeply divided polity right now.