Across the Pond: what do the polls tell us?

A confident Barack Obama enlisted his former rival Hillary Clinton to kick off a frenetic final fortnight's campaigning in Florida today, as the Democratic candidate sought to hammer home his advantage against John McCain.

A rally today featuring Ms Clinton - the New York senator who lost to Mr Obama by a whisker in the Democratic primaries - will be seen as a vital display of unity between the pair at the start of a three-day offensive against John McCain concentrating solely on the Sunshine State.

Ms Clinton's appearance, her first with Mr Obama since June, will be used to demonstrate that the former rivals have buried any animosity between them which developed during their tempestuous campaign for the Democratic candidacy. It is also an attempt to capitalise on the former First Lady's popularity in a state where she trounced Mr Obama in the Democratic primary, even though the contest was declared void after Florida violated party scheduling rules.

Florida was chosen by Mr Obama as the location for the start of his final campaign blitz because of its strategic importance as a swing-state. It was held by the tiniest of margins in controversial circumstances by the Republicans in 2000, and retained in 2004.

The start of the final blitz of campaigning before polling day on November 4 comes with Mr Obama in a confident mood after inflicting a demoralising string of blows on his Republican rival.

Yesterday, the Illinois Senator was given the key endorsement of Colin Powell, former Republican Secretary of State under President Bush, and he also announced he had clinched an astonishing $150 million in fundraising last month.

Speaking on NBC television today, Mr Obama said that Mr Powell was welcome to campaign for him and might have a place in his administration. He said Mr Powell "will have a role as one of my advisers" and that a formal role in his government was "something we’d have to discuss." Mr Powell has already said he has no plans to campaign for the Democratic candidate.

"I won’t lie to you, I would love to have him at any stop," Mr Obama said. "Obviously, if he wants to show up he’s got an open invitation."

The Democratic nominee will now spend much of the week campaigning in what was nominally Republican territory, seeking to convert his lead on the electoral map and clear opinion poll edge into a big victory over Mr McCain.

Mr Obama, 47, and Ms Clinton were today due to headline a joint rally and several separate events, pitching for a state which had looked solid for Mr McCain, but where the economic crisis engulfing the US now offers the Democrats an opening.

Mr McCain, 72, was meanwhile being forced onto the defensive, attempting to cling onto states that helped President Bush back to the White House in 2004. The Arizona senator was campaigning in midwestern Missouri after Mr Obama attracted a crowd of 100,000 people to St Louis on Saturday.

He will then fly on to Pennsylvania, a Democratic state in 2004 and a Republican target this year, which now seems to be tipping towards Mr Obama.

Mr McCain’s hopes rest on a hard-hitting campaign of mailings and automatic "robo-calls" to voters in swing states attempting to attack Mr Obama’s character, past acquaintances and record on abortion.

Despite claims by the Mr McCain camp that the race is narrowing, daily tracking polls yesterday showed a steady Obama lead.

Gallup placed Mr Obama up by 52 to 42 per cent among registered voters nationwide, reflecting the last presidential debate last week in which Obama was adjudged the winner by most snap polls. Rasmussen had Obama above 50 per cent, with a 51 to 45 per cent lead.

Speaking on Fox News yesterday, Mr McCain said he had "always admired and respected" Mr Powell. "We’re long-time friends. This doesn’t come as a surprise," the Arizona senator said, touting his endorsement by other former Secretaries of State, including Henry Kissinger and James Baker.

Mr McCain renewed his condemnation of Mr Obama’s economic policies as "socialism" and warned a rally in Toledo, in the key swing state of Ohio, that Mr Obama planned to "redistribute wealth" to the "more than 40 per cent of Americans" who are too poor to pay income taxes.

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