The Democrats' successful convention boosted Obama to an eight-point national lead, according to the latest Gallup tracking poll, and made the Republican sequel that much more important.
Going into the back-to-back conventions, McCain had pulled into a tie with Obama - overcoming what polls show is a decided Democratic advantage this year, because of the sour economy and Bush's unpopularity. The closeness of the contest left some Democrats in Denver pessimistic about their ticket's prospects in November.
Strategists in both parties credited McCain's tough tactics over the past six weeks for making the race closer than expected. Obama's Senate colleague from Illinois, Richard J. Durbin, compared McCain's summer success to a 12-0 run in a basketball game.
Republicans are hoping for a similar run this week. Conventions offer presidential candidates a unique opportunity to deliver carefully scripted messages to a national audience, and this is McCain's turn to have his say.
The Arizona senator would like to frame the election around the question of who is best prepared to lead the country. Democrats want it to be a referendum on Bush's presidency and portray McCain, who supported Bush's agenda at least 90 percent of the time on congressional votes, as more of the same.
"McCain needs to continue to make the case that he is ready to lead and Barack Obama is not. That is the essential definition of this election," said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster. "It can never be mean or angry, but John McCain is now beautifully set up to continue his fundamental message, which is: The world is a dangerous place. Put somebody in charge who knows what he's doing."
Scott Reed, a Republican consultant from Annapolis, said McCain "needs the convention to really stick it to Obama, because Obama is still more undefined than people think, and voters are showing they are nervous about him." He said that McCain also needs to present a forward-looking agenda, "what a McCain presidency would look like."
First, though, Republicans must pass the baton from their current president to the man they hope will take his place.
The Bush-McCain history is a complicated one. McCain was Bush's toughest foe in the 2000 primaries, and he bucked the president by becoming one of the few Republicans to vote against Bush's signature tax cut plan. In 2004, however, McCain embraced Bush's re-election with considerable ardor.
