US campaign sharpens as McCain takes poll lead

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AFP) - The US presidential campaign moved into high gear Monday as two opinion polls showed Republican John McCain taking the lead over Democratic rival Barack Obama just eight weeks from election day.

McCain, a decorated war hero who based much of his early campaign on the strength of his experience, wrestled last week for Obama’s mantle of change, with the help of his surprise vice presidential pick Sarah Palin.

A USA Today/Gallup survey showed McCain ahead by 50 to 46 percent among registered voters, a turnaround from a previous poll by the newspaper just before last week’s Republican National Convention.

That poll had McCain trailing Obama by seven percentage points.

Twenty-nine percent of respondents said the surprise choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee had made them more likely to vote for McCain on November 4, but 21 percent said their vote in support of the Republican ticket was now less likely.

Vice President Dick Cheney hailed the nomination of Palin, a Christian conservative with no national political experience, and called her convention speech “superb.”

“We have had all kinds of vice presidents over the years and everybody brings a different set of experiences to the office and also a different kind of understanding with whoever the president is,” Cheney said, speaking in Rome where he is meeting with Italian leaders.