Despite an effort to distance himself from the way his party has done business in Washington, Sen. John McCain is seen by voters as less likely to bring change to Washington than Sen. Barack Obama.
McCain is widely viewed as a "typical Republican" who would continue or expand President Bush's policies, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.
Polls taken after the Republican convention suggested that McCain had enjoyed a surge of support -- particularly among white women after his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate -- but the latest poll indicates "the Palin effect" was limited.
The contest appears to be roughly where it was before the conventions and the vice presidential selections: Obama has the support of 48 percent of registered voters, compared with 43 percent for McCain, a difference within the poll's sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points -- and statistically unchanged from the last New York Times/CBS News Poll in mid-August.
CLINTON FINANCIER NOW BACKS MCCAIN
A top Hillary Rodham Clinton fundraiser threw her support behind McCain, saying he will lead the country in a centrist fashion and accusing the Democrats of becoming too extreme.
"I believe that Barack Obama, with MoveOn.org and Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean, has taken the Democratic Party -- and they will continue to -- too far to the left," Lynn Forester de Rothschild said.
Rothschild is also a member of the Democratic National Committee's Platform Committee. She said she would be stepping down from her position on the committee but will not switch political parties.
2 LETTERS MAKE THREATS TO OBAMA
The Secret Service is investigating two letters threatening Obama -- one sent to Michigan's Livingston County Democratic Party and the other to a Howell, Mich., business.
Douglas Zloto, resident agent in charge of the federal agency's office in Saginaw, Mich., said authorities are trying to determine the nature and extent of the threats.
The letter sent to the party office reportedly expresses a wish that Obama "gets a bullet." The second to the business owner includes racial slurs -- preceded by a warning that the owner should "think hard about who you are trying to elect."
OBAMA WON'T RUSH 'DON'T ASK' REPEAL
Obama said if elected president he would not try to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on his own.
Obama said in an interview to run in gay publications today that he wants to work with military leaders to build a consensus on removing the ban on openly gay service members in the armed forces.
"I want to make sure that when we revert 'don't ask, don't tell,' it's gone through a process and we've built a consensus or at least a clarity of what my expectations are so that it works."
RACE WILL GET ALL '60 MINUTES'
CBS' "60 Minutes" will devote its full broadcast Sunday to profiles of McCain and Obama with fresh interviews, hoping to set the stage for the general election campaign's first presidential debate on Sept. 26. Scott Pelley plans to interview McCain in Wisconsin today, while Steve Kroft talks to Obama in Nevada.
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