Yes McCain Can!

A new Associated Press-Ipsos national poll has good news for John McCain.

If the poll is on target, it seems at this point that reports of death for Republicans in November have been greatly exaggerated.

WASHINGTON -- Republican Sen. John McCain has erased Sen. Barack Obama's 10-point advantage in a head-to-head matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates in an Associated Press-Ipsos national poll released Thursday.

The survey showed the extended Democratic primary campaign creating divisions among supporters of Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and suggests a tight race for the presidency in November no matter which Democrat becomes the nominee.

McCain is benefiting from a bounce since he clinched the GOP nomination a month ago. The four-term Arizona senator has moved up in matchups with each of the Democratic candidates, particularly Obama.

An AP-Ipsos poll taken in late February had Obama leading McCain 51-41 percent. The current survey, conducted April 7-9, had them at 45 percent each. McCain leads Obama among men, whites, Southerners, married women and independents.

Clinton led McCain, 48-43 percent, in February. The latest survey showed the New York senator with 48 percent support to McCain's 45 percent. Factoring in the poll's margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, Clinton and McCain are statistically tied.

The last month has been challenging for Obama. The Illinois senator suffered high-profile losses in Texas and Ohio that encouraged Clinton, who pushed on even harder against him. Obama's campaign also suffered a blow with scrutiny of incendiary sermons delivered by his longtime pastor. The candidate responded by delivering perhaps the biggest speech of his campaign to call for racial understanding.

Obama is also facing almost daily critiques from Clinton and McCain, questioning whether the freshman lawmaker has the experience to be a wartime leader.

Dems may use these poll results to step up pressure on Hillary to get out of the race, but I don't think she should be blamed for the Dems' slide.

I think there's much more to McCain's surge in the polls than the fact that he clinched the nomination a while ago.

I also don't think Obama's dramatic fall can be explained solely by the protacted Dem primary race.

Americans are getting to know the unknown Obama. What they're learning doesn't sit too well. He's a far Left lib.

I think this poll shows that Obama makes a good first impression. However, once voters get to know him, that initial favorable reaction gives way. He's not the uniter he claims to be. Common ground isn't found in the far Left corner of the room.

Moreover, Dem attempts to paint McCain as a President Bush clone are failing.

It's not a lock that the Democrats will take back the White House.