Why So Close?

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post provides some answers.

The fact that McCain trails by only four points in the poll of polls is somewhat remarkable given the developments of the last month or so.

Obama finally vanquished Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primary race, a win that provided him a huge amount of attention in the national media -- coverage that seemed to suggest, albeit it subtly, that the hard part of the race was over for the Illinois senator.

McCain, on the other hand, has weathered a series of stumbles -- his widely panned speech on June 3, an address that will forever be defined in political history by the lime green backdrop behind him, a staff shakeup, former Senator Phil Gramm's "mental recession" comments -- that have hijacked his message for weeks.

Cillizza believes that the strength of the McCain brand as a "straight talking reformer" seems to overcome the campaign's stumbles (and his own flip-flops on multiple issues according to Glenn Beck). Cillizza also suggests that independents, in particular, are not sold on Barack Obama, perhaps because of his so-called tack to the center. He concludes that the race is still in its early stages and McCain must still overcome strong hostility to Bush and the GOP.