TRACKERS

Posted at 1:25 p.m. ET

Both our standard trackers are out today, and both show the same thing:  McCain is up two over Obama in the Rasmussen and Gallup polls.  If anything, Obama may have gained just a bit in the last five days or so, but McCain's position, as Gallup notes, is slightly better than before the two conventions.

However, it is no time for cockiness on the McCain side.  This can g o either way, unexpected events can intervene, and the Obama camp is now beginning a major counterattack.

One thing that does appear to be true, however, is that Sarah Palin's sit-down with Charlie Gibson did not hurt the McCain campaign.  I don't think it helped either.

Some important state polls will be released by Rasmussen later today.  This is a state-by-state contest, and the electoral map remains difficult for our side. 

September 15, 2008.