“According to Real Clear Politics, Hussein averages around 5% ahead of McCain in national popularity polls. ”

Which is where Kerry was at this time in the ’04 cycle. It’s behind where algore was. IIRC he had an 8 point lead going into August.
Methinks the books are being cooked. At least I smell something. Something foul.
RCP is nutso anyway. Anyone who stayed awake thru Stats101 knows you CANNOT average polls.
For a variety of technical reasons. In theory, if the questions were the same, you could recalculate the distribution curve and get a new total based on a new sample size.
As bugs would say about whoever dreamed that up “What a Marooon”.
The purpose behind polling is to make money for pollsters. They are as connected to reality as the person paying the pollster (aka customer) wants them to be. Polling is a perversion of the science of Statistics. One that the Scientists that invented Statistics warned us about.
If you look at demographics as Zaller does, you will get a whole different picture. Zaller argues that mass opinion is formed of interest groups that can be directed by elites ( in sales the ‘Authority close’ )to affect the outcome of elections.

http://wikisum.com/w/Zaller:_The_nature_and_origins_of_mass_opinion

While it can be debated whether elites have the influence Zaller credits them with, the interest group thingie is accurate. Or at least it proves out, once a voters primary interest group is identified. Ohhhh…..BAMA has 3 major voting blocks sewed up. Black, limo liberals and the youth vote.
McCain has the Grays ( oldsters), Veterans, blue collar and anti-abortion voters.
So McCain has about a 3-2 edge in RV’s and about a 3-1 edge in LV’s since vets and grays vote in high percentages.
Ohhhhh…..BAAAMA knows this, his hired guns understand demographics as well as anybody and I’m sure they all have a copy of Zaller in their briefcase. That is why he is flip-flopping away. That is why he is moving back to the center. Not sure if it will work. I am sure it’s part of a plan and one that isn’t going so well.
The traditional Socialist strategy of running left for the nomination, then back right for the election takes time. The Dems understand this, which is why they had the nomination process scheduled to end in March. That would have given the suckers…..er.. voters time to get over the turn back to the right. Time to get the moonbats back on the reservation after that flop to the right. That is how you avoid the flip flop process that plagued Kerry. Who wants a clueless President? Or even one that appears clueless?
The nomination system was designed by Clinton to put Clinton in the White House. NObama stole it and now he can’t get it to work right. Forgot the instruction manual. Billery says; “You got hthe key, now shut up and drive.” So what I smell might be panic. NObama is farther behind then any other Democratic candidate as far back as I can find records. Polls ARE good for trends and that is not a good one for the Obamassiah.