ST. PAUL, Minn. – Possibly, but Gallup’s tracking today that Barack Obama ahead of John McCain by 8 points.

Gallup Daily tracking has Obama up 49-41, just like Friday. It was 45-45 when Democrats convened their Denver convention on Monday, so it looks like the Democrats’ convention was a success.

Gallup had a somewhat disquieting finding for Republicans: Democratic women, Hillary Clinton backers among them, said they were less likely than more likely to support McCain as a result of choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Of course, Palin also was chosen to rally the party’s conservative and evangelical base, and as you can read elsewhere in STLtoday, Missouri conservatives look to be happy and energized by having Palin on the ticket.

Meanwhile, another overnight tracking poll – Rasmussen Reports – had Obama ahead today 49-45 percent. The same poll had Obama up by three points on Friday, leading Rasmussen pollsters to conclude that Palin may have indeed blunted the impact of Obama’s acceptance speech.

Generally, candidates get 5-point bounces from conventions, according to Gallup.

What’s the biggest Democratic bounce in recent history? Bill Clinton’s 28-point leap in 1992 – but that doesn’t really count because Ross Perot’s exit from the race that week turned the campaign upside down and helped propel Clinton to the presidency.

Next on the list of big Democratic bumps was Jimmy Carter’s 13-point surge in 1976 on the way to the White House.

John Kerry in 2004? Would you believe a big fat 0 after Democrats devoted many hours in Boston to recalling their nominee’s Vietnam experiences.

Among Republicans, Richard Nixon’s 12-point bounce after the 1960 convention didn’t carry him to the White House but his 11-point jump in 1972 helped him get there.

In 2004, George W. Bush came out of the GOP convention with a 2-point bounce – and uptick that came in handy two months later.