The Bounce Begins

Although some (including me) have worried that Obama might get little or no bounce from the convention, that doesn't seem to be the case so far:

Gallup (pre-convention):
Obama: 48% (44)
McCain: 42% (46)

This poll takes into account the first two nights of the convention, mainly Michelle Obama's speech and Hillary Clinton's. We'll have to wait until Monday's Gallup Poll to see the full bounce (or non-bounce) from the convention.

Democrats have been particularly worried about getting a bounce because of our experience four years ago, when John Kerry got a 2-3 point bounce while George W. Bush received a hefty 8-point bounce. So far the bounce looks to be about 8 points, which is quite good by historical standards:

It is worth noting that at no point during the 2004 Convention did Kerry show anything similar to the bounce that Obama has already received.

No wonder the McCain campaign so panicked that they might announce their VP choice tonight, in a desperate attempt to steal coverage from Obama's historic speech.