McCain takes lead over Obama in new poll

WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (AFP) - US Republican Presidential nominee John McCain took a lead over his Democratic rival Barack Obama after receiving a boost from last week's Republican National Convention, a new opinion poll showed. brThe USA TodayGallup survey, carried out over the weekend, showed McCain ahead of Obama 50 percent to 46 percent among registered voters, a turnaround from a previous poll taken by the newspaper just before the convention. brThat poll had McCain trailing Obama by seven percentage points, according to USA Today. brThe Republicans had a very successful convention and, at least initially, the selection of Sarah Palin has made a big difference, political scientist Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia is quoted by the paper as saying. brHe's in a far better position than his people imagined he would be in at this point, he added. Palin, the Alaska governor and a strong conservative, has been selected by McCain as his vice presidential running mate.