'Poll: Obama leads McCain nationally by small margin'

This is good news.

Barack Obama, 48 percent
John McCain, 42 percent . . .

The poll shows the Democratic Party remains divided after Obama's five-month primary fight with Hillary Rodham Clinton. One in eight Democrats say they'll back Republican McCain in the fall, including one in five Clinton supporters. Far fewer Democrats voted for President Bush in 2004. More than half of Democrats think the long battle hurt their party's November chances. Obama backers are about evenly split over whether he should make Clinton his vice presidential running mate, while Clinton voters love the idea. McCain is 8 percentage points ahead of Obama among independents. McCain is seen as likelier to be the better commander in chief, Obama the more caring about people's needs. Three in 10 say McCain's age — he is 71 — would hinder his effectiveness as president.

I'm all for Hillary becoming Obama's running mate. I think my father would make a better president than McCain, and he's 85 (and also a Republican), so I'm not into the age-bashing. (I wouldn't vote for him, however.)