Poll: McCain Takes 5-Point Lead

John McCain has erased Barack Obama’s 7-point July advantage to take a 46%-41% lead in the latest Reuters/Zogby poll, Reuters reports. McCain has turned around a perceived  weakness on economy to now be favored by a 9% margin on the economy. The poll was taken Thursday through Saturday, as Obama was finishing a weeklong Hawaiian vacation that ceded the political stage to McCain.

McCain spent his week emphasizing his views on the Georgia crisis and continuing his flurry of attacks on his opponent. Pollster John Zogby said the negativity is paying off, but he also believes Obama has hurt himself with rightward shifts on drilling and other issues. “That hairline difference between nuance and what appears to be flip-flopping is hurting him with liberal voters,” he said. (More Barack Obama stories.)