Denver, Aug. 29 : The New York Times said on Friday said the Democratic National Convention has finally given nominee Barack Obama the boost he needed to surpass John McCain in national surveys this week.

Quoting from the latest Gallup Poll, the paper said that it showed Obama leading McCain by 48 to 42 percent.

The poll was based on interviews with voters during the first three days of the convention. That''s an improvement over the 45-44 lead he held over McCain Wednesday and the 46-44 deficit to McCain on Tuesday.

"Most conventions historically produce a bounce. Just the focused media attention on one side and none on the other produces a bounce," said Frank Newport, editor of the Gallup Poll.

"When it doesn''t occur, that''s really the thing to make note of," he added.

Among black voters, Obama led McCain by 93 percent to two percent. He held onto his lead with young people, beating McCain 55-38 among 18 to 29-year-olds.

McCain was stronger with senior citizens, topping Obama 47-40 among those 65 and older, and beat his opponent 48-39 among white women.

New York-based Democratic consultant Dan Gerstein attributed Obama''s bump to Hillary Clinton''s speech and the overall success of the convention.

A separate USA Today/Gallup poll out yesterday showed that 83 percent of voters gave the Clinton pep talk a good review.

Republican pollster Frank Luntz and New York City Councilman James Oddo agreed that McCain has an uphill climb to match Obama''s momentum when the Republican convention begins Monday. (ANI)