Washington, Sept. 11 : Republican John McCain continues to maintain a slim lead over Democratic rival Barack Obama, almost two weeks after the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

According to a Fox News poll, McCain leads Obama by 45 percent to 42 percent. Independents too are backing McCain by 15 percentage points (46 percent to 31 percent). Last month, Obama had a one-point edge among independents.

Before the Democratic convention in Denver, Obama led McCain by 42 percent to 39 percent.

Washington, Sept. 11 : A lot of American voters have welcomed John McCain’s choice of running mate, saying that among all four candidates Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is the most likely to understand “the problems of everyday life”.

According to a new poll conducted by Fox News, Palin barely outpaces Barack Obama (32 percent), but is significantly ahead of both McCain (17 percent) and Joe Biden 
(10 percent).

Among independent voters, Palin’s lead over Obama on this score widens to 13 points (35 percent to 22 percent).

Washington, Sept. 11 : Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s presence on the McCain ticket, coupled with Hillary Clinton’s absence, could see women voters overwhelmingly favor the Republicans.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week showed white women swinging hard against the Democratic ticket. Obama left Denver with an 8-point lead among white women; and by the time John McCain pulled out of St. Paul, Minnesota, with Palin at his side, he had taken a 12-point lead.

San Francisco - The United States might be fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but back on home soil, another kind of war is heating up as the country counts down to the November 4 elections.

Since Republican presidential candidate John McCain chose the gun-toting, deeply conservative and devoutly Christian mother of five Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, the country has become embroiled in a resurgence of the culture wars that dominated US politics during the 1990s.

London- US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama enjoys the support of large parts of the global population and is seen as preferable to his Republican rival, John McCain, a poll published by the BBC suggested Wednesday.

Backing for Obama is, not surprisingly, strongest in European countries, but otherwise ranges from just 9 per cent in India to 82 per cent in Kenya, where the 47-year-old Illinois senator was born.

Washington, Sept. 10 : Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is now making the pitch that his Republican rival John McCain has miscalculated by focusing the discussions on who can do more to change Washington.

During a brief news conference in Ohio, Obama dismissed the polls and said the real significance is that the Republicans have decided to challenge him on his own turf.