Last week's Republican National Convention did what it was supposed to do for GOP presidential nominee John McCain. That's according to UW-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin, following a USA Today-Gallup Poll that gives McCain his first lead over Democratic nominee Barack Obama.
The poll puts McCain ahead of Obama by four points, while he had trailed by seven points entering the GOP convention. The poll has McCain favored by 50-percent of voters and Obama with 46-percent.
Franklin says McCain was closing the gap headed into the convention, and he saw a "good bounce" after last week and the addition of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Franklin says the question now is whether McCain can maintain that lead in the coming weeks.
WIBA's John Colbert contributed to this report.